A World Forged From Chaos
by Mighdas
Summary: When Megatron's potshot at Bumblebee gives Raf a dose of Dark Energon, Unicron finds his unlimited cosmic power trapped in an itty-bitty living space. But the Chaos Bringer finds that his progeny take after him in more ways than he realizes.
1. The Nightmare Begins

"_Destiny… You cannot destroy my destiny."_

-Unicron, Primax Cluster

"… _and as it were a great mountain, raging with fire, arose from the sea."_

-The Covenant of Primus, Primax Cluster

* * *

Rafael was falling. He had never fallen far before. Sometimes, as he drifted to sleep, he would have a sense of falling, and involuntarily jerk himself awake. In his dreams, sometimes he would fall from some ledge or railing, but he would always be saved in the nick of time. Sometimes, it would be by Optimus, other times by Arcee or Bulkhead. One time, it was Ratchet. But most of the time, it was Bumblebee. His guardian. His partner. His best friend.

Raf didn't think Bumblebee would be able to save him this time. Not unless the little yellow car grew a pair of wings and flew into the upper atmosphere to catch him, but at the speed he was going, that may not have been enough.

He had gone past the clouds now. He could see the ocean. Well that was nice. He'd splash like a cannon ball. Well no. from this height, it would be like hitting concrete. He'd give anything to be able to transform like the Autobots right about then. But the only vehicle that popped into his head was a NASA command module. Maybe part of him thought that was funny.

Oh. Look. An island. And he was heading straight for it. His own internal narration seemed pretty resigned right about then, which was probably why he didn't react when he saw the volcano right smack dab in the middle of it, which was belching just enough smoke to tell him that it would probably erupt any minute. He started counting the digits to pi to see how far he would get before he got splattered-slash-melted.

He hit the magma before he got to 6.

It didn't hurt. He literally didn't feel anything. He blinked and saw that this magma was… purple. And he was still falling through it. He kept falling for a quite a bit, now positive this was a dream. He breached the purple and now he was falling through solid rock. And the deeper he went, the stronger he felt, like he was going home.

Then it went dark. And then…

Eyes.

* * *

"His pulse rate is stabilizing!" a woman cried out. Was it his mother? The only way to tell was to open his eyes, and that seemed harder than it should have been, but he did anyway.

No. It wasn't his mother. It was Ms. Darby, Jack's mom. Jack was there too. And Miko, and behind them…

"Bee!" he murmured weakly.

"Yeah, Bee." The robot hummed in response, his relief obvious. Ratchet sighed in satisfaction, and Miko hugged him in his bed, though he couldn't exactly move to reciprocate.

"Optimus, we did it." The medical robot said to the monitor. The only responses were grunts and the sound of metal hitting metal. Whatever Optimus was doing, he clearly wasn't able to talk.

Raf slowly sat up and shook his head, when the voice spoke.

"_My destiny. This isn't how it's supposed to end!"_

And then another, more familiar one, yet more distant.

"_On the contrary, Megatron… I could not have allowed this to end otherwise."_

And then pain. A pain that started in his chest and shot up to his skull, pulsing faintly and slowly increasing in intensity.

"Bulkhead, you let Optimus face Megatron alone?" Arcee yelled, jerking Raf from his trance. Nobody was watching him now. They were watching Ratchet work on the base computer.

"I didn't have a choice." The wrecker explained.

"It could be a trap," Ratchet noted, "we need to get a fix on his location!" The Autobot began to work faster, and a minute later the console began to beep. "I've locked onto Optimus's signal… Wait. How is this possible?"

"What?" Arcee asked, "What is it?"

"We need to get Optimus out of there _now_!" Ratchet shouted, turning around and pushing past her to get to the Ground Bridge controls.

The headache reached its peak, pounding in his skull, but seemed to erupt in him, flaring up before vanishing, and in its place was… awareness. As if he had woken up from a really good sleep.

The Ground Bridge activated and Bulkhead charged through first. A few seconds after, Arcee flipped through the portal. Then Ratchet too. There was silence, and then Arcee and Ratchet came back through dragging Optimus Prime, badly beaten. Bulkhead jumped through immediately after, and Bumblebee closed the bridge. For a brief second before it closed, though, Raf could feel something on the other side. Something that was hostile, but at the same time familiar on an almost primal level.

"Easy Optimus," Ratchet muttered, "From the looks of things, you've been exposed to a massive amount of dark energon."

"I am not the only one…" He remarked, looking at Raf. The bots sat Optimus down next to him, and Raf didn't know how, but he could practically sense something different about the Autobot, like a corruption that was slowly fading.

The leader was clearly happy see him, but Ms. Darby clearly wasn't happy to see Optimus. Rafael barely got out a "hey" before she tore into the bot.

"He's lucky to be alive." She snapped. Optimus only looked away in shame.

"Megatron found more of the dark stuff?" Jack inquired.

"A volcano full." Arcee explained.

"The question is, 'how?'" Bulkhead added.

"No, the question is, 'what?'" Ratchet corrected. "As in, 'what in the world is the Blood of Unicron doing here on Earth?"

_Blood of Unicron…_

"The 'Cons killed a unicorn?" Miko asked, amused. The Autobots all stared in confusion. "White horse with a horn on its head?" she explained. "Prances around all sparkly?"

"Uni_cron_." Ratchet emphasized. "An ancient evil whose fossilized blood comprises the matter which we call dark energon…" He looked off to the side. "As legend would have it."

_Dark Energon..._

"So, you're saying this Unicron is some kind of boogeyman?" Ms. Darby suggested.

"Boogeyman?"

"Make-believe creepy guy who hides in your closet." Miko volunteered.

"No, Nurse Darby. Unicron is very real." Ratchet replied, and then paused to correct. "Was. That is…" Ratchet tried to explain, "While I do believe he once existed, I just don't subscribe to the theory that his primordial life force is the substance which… harmed Raf."

"I've heard enough" she fumed, walking around to push Raf's bed. "Jack, please, help me get Raf into the car."

"What? You can't!" Bee buzzed.

"Mom, I thought he was doing better." Jack protested.

"Raf needs to be examined by _real_ doctors, And Raf's family needs to know what happened." She turned to look at Ratchet. "His _real_ family."

"Mom, Raf's family can't protect him. Not like they can." Jack retorted, pointing to the Autobots.

"June," Optimus spoke, slowly standing up; "It deeply grieves me that I have failed. But I will do everything in my power to ensure that no harm comes to our human friends… or any human, ever again."

_Power…_

"Optimus, they're children." She whispered. "They do not belong in your world." Her voice almost cracked. "They should be worrying about grades, prom dates, pimples! Not their own survival!"

_Your world… Survival…_

"Mom, dark energon is pouring out of the Earth." Jack pleaded. "It doesn't do that. This could be about everyone's survival, not just ours."

"You're coming with me. All three of you." She ordered. She looked up at the robots. "And they will _not_ be coming back."

"I understand." Optimus conceded.

"That's it?" Miko demanded, "After all we've been through together? 'See ya'? What about _our_ freedom to choose?"

"That may fly on their planet." June called, helping Raf into her car. "But not here on Earth. Get in."

_Here on Earth…_

"Do you really expect me to get into a non-transforming vehicle?" Miko smirked.

"Miko. I'm serious."

"You're not my mother." Miko answered, hands on her hips.

"Miko…" Bulkhead protested.

"Neither are you!" She snapped.

Raf closed his eyes and tried to tune out all of the voices. What was going on? Who was-?

The door slammed. Raf looked out and saw that the others were staying. June got into the car, and he saw Optimus gesture to Ratchet to activate the Ground Bridge.

"No thank you!" she barked, and the car drove out of the normal tunnel with an audible squeal of the tires. Raf turned around for one last look at Bumblebee, and sat back down, sobbing softly.

The sky was dark when the car exited the tunnel. Clouds swirled and Raf saw lightning flash. Raf tried to count the seconds in his head to drown out the voice. But it wouldn't stop. It wasn't even speaking, as much as it was… humming. Throbbing. Pulsing. Almost as if it were trying to warn him.

June gasped as lightning struck again, right next to the car. She swerved to the side, accelerating as more and more lightning hit the road. The car spun out of control, and they hit a telephone pole.

"Raf, are you ok?" she asked. He nodded in affirmation. A whistling noise could be heard outside of the car, and Raf saw a tornado touch down about 50 yards away, and slowly make its way towards them. "Oh come on!" she shouted, shifting into reverse and slamming down on the gas pedal. They seemed to be stuck, and the car began to lift off of the ground towards the twister. Raf felt the car jerk suddenly, and saw that Bumblebee had showed up and grabbed the car with one hand while gripping the pole with the other. Once again, he had saved him.

"Get on!" he hummed.

"Onto his hand!" Raf translated. He climbed out the window and onto the hood with June, and they made it onto his hand just as the car tore away from the rest of the hood and flew into the distance.

Bee transformed and dropped them into the passenger seat and raced back to base.

"Thank you." June gasped.

"Don't mention it." The car whirred in response.

Raf cradled his head, too frustrated to translate it. As they passed through the darkness of the tunnel, the first vision started.

_A great mountain, raging with fire. _

_An explosion that shakes the world. _

_A purple glow, snaking like veins across the land. _

_Cracks in the façade._

_Destruction._

"Raf. Raf!" Miko shouted.

"Wh-what?" Raf gasped, snapping out of his trance.

"You OK there?"

"Yeah I just… saw something scary."

"Yeah, we saw it on the monitors. The news stations are saying weather like that is happening all over the world!"

Rafael closed his eyes and tried to remember exactly what he saw. Already the memory was escaping like trying to hold sand. But the pulsing, the pounding was still there.

"What have you learned, Prime?" Agent Fowler demanded as he walked in through the helipad elevator door. "And you better not blow smoke up my oven!"

"We have learned this-" Ratchet pointed at the screen. "As with the so called magma from the volcano, these earthquakes originated far below the Earth's crust, from the very center of the Earth's core, in fact."

_Core..._

"Tiny tremors," he continued. "rising and falling in a consistent pattern, almost like…"

Raf couldn't tell if Ratchet actually trailed off, because the pounding in his brain was practically deafening. He took a step back and sat on a couch while Bumblebee and the Darbys stepped forward to listen more closely.

Ratchet entered a few keystrokes into the computer, and a sound filled the base. The very same sound Raf could still hear inside him. There was no escape from its dreadful intensity; it was all he could do not to scream.

"A Cybertronian heartbeat? How is that possible?" Jack's voice sounded.

_Cybertronian…_

"A heart pumps blood." June continued, stating the obvious. "There's nothing inside the Earth to pump, except-"

"_The Blood of Unicron."_ Another voice spoke. It was only when everybody turned to him that Raf realized that it was coming from him. In his own head… no, in his soul, he could hear the same voice continue:

"_I Awaken."_

* * *

Raf closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was no time to collapse again. He had to focus. The world could be in grave danger and he was having headaches and hallucinations. The others continued their conversation, but Raf could only focus for seconds at a time.

"-living down there? Inside our planet?"

"-rising darkness that the prophecy-"

"How do we stop this thing-"

"-was not foretold."

"-live inside our Earth's core and be-"

"-not unprecedented. Before the beginning, there was Primus,"

_**PRIMUS.**_

The word pierced through his brain like a fiery knife. The pain was silenced, but the voice… the feeling itself seemed to be _angry_ inside his own head. It felt like a heatless flame had filled his skull, replacing the pain with focus again. the world itself took on a pale purple tint as he sat up to listen.

"There was also Unicron." Optimus continued. "One the incarnation of creation, the other, of destruction. For eons, they battled. The balance of power shifting between them more times than could be counted. Only by creating the 13-"

Silhouettes with pale blue eyes flashed through Raf's vision.

"-the original primes who preceded me, was Primus finally able to defeat Unicron and cast him out. Primus became one with our planet, creating life through the Well of Allsparks, while Unicron was never to be heard from again… until now."

_Now._

The burning in his eyes receded back into his brain, dwindling almost to the point of vanishing, but stayed as a small smolder in the back of his head. The pain did not return.

"Maybe we can find the hole this Uber-'Con left when he dug himself all the way down there and fill it full of explosives!" Fowler suggested.

"Agent Fowler, I do not believe that Earth became Unicron's home," Optimus said slowly, "but rather that with time and gravitational force, debris collected around the slumbering titan."

"Forming your Earth itself." Ratchet finished.

"And he's only awakening now due to the magnetic pull created by the planetary alignment!" Arcee realized.

"Okay, well, what happens now when Unicron wakes up from his billion-year nap?" Jack asked fearfully.

"Yeah, does he stretch and kapow?! Earth poufs to dust?" Miko joked, with appropriate hand motions.

Optimus was silent.

"You don't know, do you?" June mumbled.

"My guess is that Unicron has transcended physical form as we know it." Optimus acknowledged, "Nonetheless, we must find a way to ensure that this force of nature never fully awakens. The fate of your planet depends upon it."

* * *

The inner fire flared up, this time Raf felt it around his ears, and he could hear echoes of another conversation.

"_Who would speak to me?"_ the first voice bellowed. It was the voice that Raf had been hearing all along, and it was deep and booming like rolling thunder.

"_Your servant most humble, Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons, and your very herald, the one who wielded the dark energon which binds us to awaken you once again! The Prophecy has been fulfilled! It is only the beginning of what we shall accomplish together, for you shall rule this planet and those who walk upon it through me!"_

"_Prideful fool! How dare you think yourself capable of summoning _my_ life force? I rise because I have deemed it my time!"_

"_Master, I did not mean to overstep-"_

"_Silence, worm! I have no need of your lowly assistance."_

"_Please, my lord! I exist only to serve you!"_

The fire moved to Raf's nose, tickling him a bit, and the returned to his ears.

"_What is this I sense?"_ The voice demanded. _"The taint of Primus? Here?"_

"_That is Optimus, the last of the Primes. Our sworn enemy."_

"_You profess loyalty to me, yet allow a disciple of Primus to live?!"_

"_I will destroy him for you! His screams will be heard-"_

"_I grow weary of your prattle. Surely if you had the power to destroy this Prime, you would have done so already. I will deal with him myself."_

With that, the flame returned again to its resting state. It moved to his heart, and Raf could feel its warmth pulse through his body once, and then return back to his head. When he blinked, he realized that he had passed out on the couch, and Optimus Prime was gone.

* * *

_"Do you know me, follower of Primus?"_ The voice asked. This time, Raf could hear it for real, through the base speakers. Ratchet was listening to Prime's communicator.

"Unicron, the Chaos Bringer." Optimus answered. Just hearing it made Ratchet frown a bit more.

"_Good…"_ the voice answered. The flame pulsed in seeming approval, and the sound of rocks falling could be heard in the background. _"Now know me as Unicron, your destroyer!"_

The sounds of a struggle could briefly be heard, and then Optimus spoke again. "I humbly request your ear, Lord Unicron."

"_And what would a Prime be so compelled to say to me?"_

"I make this appeal not for myself, but for this planet which you constitute, and the beings who inhabit it. Humankind relies upon you for life, sustenance. Your resurrection will only result in the destruction of a species which evolved from the seeds of your very greatness."

"_So this humankind of which you speak… You consider them my progeny?"_

"Indeed."

There was a pause.

The burning filled his head again, and this time, it was painful again. It felt as if it was snaking through every fissure, every empty space and burning through thirteen years of feelings and memories. Raf found himself picturing the world and everything he knew about it. He saw the things he had learned about in class or read once in a book but couldn't usually remember. He saw all of the old war documentaries that he stayed up late watching. He saw the inner workings of all the appliances that he had taken apart for fun, and the schematics of all the things he had looked up on the internet out of curiosity.

Then he saw his family. He saw his friends. He saw the bullies in school. He saw his mother's birthday, and he saw his grandfather's funeral. He screamed and clutched his head as every waking second of his life seemed to be consumed by the fire before it reached earlier that day, when he was riding in Bumblebee and was shot with a blast by Megatron. And then it stopped. The fire seemed… happy for once, and Raf felt a wave of relief, which he now remembered was serotonin, flow through him. He almost wanted to do that again.

"_I see… How did your prophecy speak? 'The weak shall perish in the shadow of a rising darkness'? Perhaps what does not kill these parasites will make them stronger! If they are weak, then they too shall perish by my wrathful hand!"_

More sounds of combat were heard.

"_The Line of Primes has grown weak in my absence. And thus, you shall fall."_

"That outcome is inevitable. But not on this day!"

The sounds of blaster fire and crumbling rock filled the room again. The inner fire sputtered for a second, but returned within moments.

"_Yes, disciple of Primus, on this very day,"_ the voice could be heard in Raf's head as well now, _"For Unicron may be one, but we all are Unicron!"_ The words echoed and surged with power, and when _"Unicron is power incarnate, and you, the last of the Primes, shall perish!"_

"Optimus, we're on our way!" Ratchet shouted into the com-link.

"Negative. Unicron cannot be defeated by sheer force. He wants me, Ratchet. This fight will be mine alone."

Ratchet eyed the com screen for a minute with a hand on the Ground Bridge controls, and listened to the struggle. From the sounds of it, Optimus wasn't exactly winning. Ratchet closed his eyes and pulled the lever, activating the Ground Bridge. The three other Autobots charged through to save the Prime.

As soon as the bridge opened, Raf could feel the presence on the other side of it. Multiple forces, malevolent and frightening, all of them calling to him, like when you were in a really tall building and had the inexplicable urge to jump out. He almost wanted to jump through the Bridge just so feel it up close, because he was getting a bit of a rush just from there.

"Wait, no! Keep it open!" Raf shouted as Ratchet prepared to close the Ground Bridge.

"What is it, Raf?"

Ratchet wouldn't understand. "Just… what if they need to make a quick escape? You might as well leave it for them to come back through."

Ratchet gave him an "I doubt that" look, but when he saw the desperation on Raf's face, he shrugged and kept the lever on.

The entities on the other side of the portal were constantly vanishing, but each time, more took their place, rising harder and stronger.

"Ratchet!" Arcee's voice came through, "We're not going to be taking the Ground Bridge back! You can- oh, scrap!"

Raf felt the entities fade away to one, which grew stronger than all of the rest combined, and nearly overwhelmed him before Ratchet closed the Ground Bridge. From the sounds of the comm, they were fighting something enormous and weren't putting much of a dent in it. Bulkhead and Bumblebee's vitals took a hit and the GPS showed them get flung out almost an entire football field's distance. Arcee was hit next, and Optimus was alone in facing… whatever it was.

"_I am this world's past and its future. And as of this moment, all Primes are simply past."_

Then the sound of blaster fire, and another explosion. Raf could actually feel the base shake.

"What is it? What happened?" Ratchet shouted at the screen.

"I happened." The gravelly voice of Megatron declared.

"Whoah, King 'Con is there?" Miko asked excitedly.

"He has aligned himself with Unicron." Ratchet muttered gravely.

"Don't be so sure. Megatron just saved Optimus' tailpipe." Arcee noted into the comm.

"It is rather ironic, considering our last encounter." Megatron admitted. "If memory serves, you were desperately trying to extinguish my spark."

"That option remains very much in play." Optimus noted.

"I would expect nothing less." Megatron laughed. "However, I have a proposal. Join me in defeating our shared enemy: Unicron, the Chaos Bringer."

Raf didn't know why, but that made his heart jump. Like his body wanted to respond: "No." at every level.

"Hah, absurd." Ratchet scoffed. "Unicron is evil incarnate. If Megatron was to take any side, why would it be ours?"

"Because Megatron's pride would never allow anyone other than himself to rule this planet." Optimus replied solemnly.

"You know me all too well, Optimus."

"You lead an army of 'Cons." Bulkhead noted. "Why come to us?"

"Because this particular endeavor requires something beyond the realm of my command: the power of a Prime."

"Then I guess we don't need you." Bulkhead said dismissively.

"On the contrary, Optimus may be the only one who can defeat Unicron, but I remain the only one who can guide you to him. Unicron's lifeblood runs through me. Only I can hear his thoughts, anticipate his movements. Optimus, our past alliances - Autobot, Decepticon - no longer matter, not while Unicron lives."

The fire in Raf's mind twisted itself into a ball and seemed to scream it's disapproval into his skull. Loud, though not painful, this time.

Ratchet slammed his fists into the computer. "The past always matters!"

"A truce between Autobot and Decepticon. How long do you expect us to believe that will last?" Optimus questioned.

Megatron's smile was practically audible. "Only as long as it's mutually beneficial."

"And when our proposed shared mission is complete?"

"I will conquer this Earth my way."

"Brutal honesty from a Decepticon?" Arcee mused.

"Aligning with the lesser of two evils is still siding with evil." Ratchet insisted.

"Do you think you've witnessed the full power of Unicron?" Megatron snapped. "Those foot soldiers were nothing more than a taste. Unicron has yet to fully awaken. With each passing moment, the "Bringer of Chaos" evolves, mutating Earth from the inside out. What we have witnessed until now is but a prelude of the utter devastation his rising will wreak upon your world."

Raf knew that Megatron was right. The same feeling he had near the Ground Bridge seemed to be practically ambient. He was surprised that nobody else had commented on it.

"Like your quest for power destroyed Cybertron?" Arcee accused.

"Make no mistake. This time, there _will_ be a planet left for me to rule."

"Even if we agree, Unicron's all the way down at the center of the Earth." Bulkhead argued. "How are we supposed to get there - drive?"

"There is only one way." Optimus began.

"Absolutely not!" Ratchet fumed, "Ground-Bridging into space or onto moving trains is difficult enough. But plotting a blind jump inside of a sentient being?! Besides, direct exposure to that much Dark Energon will debilitate you. You haven't built up an immunity like Megatron has."

Raf began to feel faint. He looked at his arms and saw that his veins had begun to take a hue that slightly more purple than usual.

"Yet another strong argument for soliciting my guidance." Megatron chimed.

"You can provide Unicron's exact coordinates?" Optimus inquired.

"If you transport us to this planet's core, I can lead you directly into Unicron's spark. The very heart of his darkness."

"Optimus, even if we survive the jump, how are we supposed to stop Unicron?" Arcee demanded.

Optimus didn't speak for a moment. "With the Matrix of Leadership."

"What is that?" Agent Fowler asked.

"A vessel of pure energy, the collective wisdom of the Primes." Ratchet explained.

"Do we have time for a scavenger hunt? I mean, where's Optimus supposed to find this Matrix?" Jack wondered.

"Optimus does not need to find it." Ratchet pounded his chest. "He carries it within him."

"It was the combined power of the Primes that defeated Unicron so long ago," Megatron continued, "the very reason he now seeks to destroy you."

"It would follow that unleashing the power of the Matrix directly into Unicron's spark would return him to stasis." Optimus finished.

The flame reached his Raf's eyes again. He tried to rub it out, but it stayed, and nobody seemed to notice.

"Hold on," Miko interrupted, "if 'everything goes right,' Unicron's gonna stay down there?"

"Yeah. Can't we siphon him out somehow?" Jack suggested.

_No. Not in. Is._

"He's not in the Earth's core, Jack." Rafael said fearfully, "He is the Earth's core."

"Rafael is correct." Ratchet admitted, "Tampering with your core could affect the magnetic poles, trigger the very cataclysmic events we are attempting to remedy. Tragically, Unicron is your planet's very seed. Always has been and always must be."

_Always._

A rumbling sound could be heard on the comm again, and it was echoed inside Raf.

"…Ratchet, set the ground bridge." Optimus prime said, slightly rushed.

Ratchet pulled the lever. The presence Raf felt on the other side was overwhelming. Like a burning wind suddenly appearing on a winter morning. He felt his skin tingle and he took an involuntary step forward towards it. If he could see up close just what…

"Wait." Arcee said, "We're opening up a direct path into our base with Megatron standing right there?"

Bulkhead agreed. "And seriously, he's gonna risk his own spark to save us?

"Hardly my nature." Megatron laughed. "Consider my offer. I shall keep it busy."

The bots jumped through and Ratchet closed the bridge again. Raf blinked and looked at his hands and realized that he was reaching out to the wormhole.

"I know that desperate times call for desperate measures," Ratchet argued, "but bringing Megatron here?"

"How can you even think about letting that monster near these children after what he did to Raf?" June demanded, pulling him back.

_Fool. Not to. For._

"He will be closely monitored and only allowed to linger long enough to send us on our journey." Optimus promised. "Not one moment more."

"What's gonna stop the 'Con from calling in an air strike if he knows where you live?" Agent Fowler pointed out.

"By Ground-Bridging Megatron here, he will be unable to get a fix on our coordinates."

"Optimus, what's gonna happen to you when all your Matrix energy is released?" Jack asked.

"The power within the Matrix has not previously been utilized in this particular manner." Optimus admitted.

"But you have an idea, don't you?"

_Danger._

"Autobots," Optimus turned, ignoring the question. "If humankind is to be saved, I have no choice but to proceed. But you do."

"Well, I don't know about humankind, but I'm willing to do it for Miko." Bulkhead declared.

"For Jack." Arcee agreed.

"For Raf." Bumblebee buzzed.

The fire in his head coiled itself around his heart and gave it a squeeze.

"Megatron, we are sending transport." Optimus said into the comlink.

"You can always be relied upon to listen to reason, Optimus." Megatron beamed.

Ratchet made a wretching sound and pulled the Ground Bridge lever.

_Come._

Optimus gestured for the humans to move into the other room. When Miko wouldn't go, Ratchet began pushing her. Raf slowly walked away from the portal, never looking away.

"No fair! I've never seen him!" Miko protested. "Why do we have to hide?"

"Because I said so!" Ratchet commanded.

The portal flashed, and Megatron strode through into the base. A titan among titans, standing a full head above the other giant robots Raf knew. And in him, Raf could sense it. The same spark. No… Not just a fire. An inferno.

"So, this is where the magic happens." Megatron smirked, clearly disappointed. "Quaint."

Raf ran out from the hallway to confront him.

"Raf, no!" Ms. Darby said, reaching out too late to stop him.

"You!" He stammered. Not quite sure what to say to the mechanical space giant he had begun to antagonize. "What…"

"Ah!" Megatron's smirk spread into a toothy, almost shark like grin when he saw the human, and his chest piece pulsed in agreement, "You're looking much better than the last time we met, little one." He reached out one of his fingers to touch the boy, and Raf could almost feel something pulling him to it like a wire before Arcee stepped between them, blasters pointed at Megatron.

"Humans…" Megatron smiled as he pulled back his hand. "Fascinating."

Raf was struggling to hold back tears. The flame seemed to consume his body in that moment, and for an instant Raf began to wonder how much the grey tyrant would be smiling with his chest cavity torn open and hollowed out.

"Come on, Raf." Jack said, reaching out to pull him back. "He isn't worth it." Jack's hands were only on him for a second before he pulled them away, as if he had received a static shock. Jack looked at his hands in confusion for a moment before Raf turned around and sulked back to the hallway.

"And you." Megatron regarded Jack, "I never forget a face, even that of a human."

"You double-cross anyone, mine is the face you'll never forget." Miko shouted, before being pulled back by Agent Fowler. "Never!"

"Ratchet, obtain the destination coordinates from our guest." Optimus ordered, before turning to follow the humans. He crouched down behind them once they were out of sight of the main room. "Jack… Will you keep something for me?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Raf turned around to look as Optimus pulled out a flat, glowing blue computer chip of some kind. If seemed to fold in on itself multiple times before inexplicably becoming the size of Jack's hand.

_THE KEY._

"It is the key to the ground bridge power supply." Optimus answered.

"Okay, but shouldn't Ratchet have this?" Jack questioned.

"Perhaps." Optimus acknowledged. "But I've been impressed by how much you have matured since we first met. As such, I feel you have earned the responsibility of safeguarding this important device until I return."

"I won't let you down." Jack declared, as Optimus walked back to the other Cybertronians.

"Locked and ready." Ratchet said, pulling the Ground Bridge lever.

Raf had read about black holes before. Objects so massive, with a gravitational pull so great, that not even light could escape it. As the fire pushed against the front of his forehead, and his legs began to involuntarily walk towards whatever was on the other side, Raf wondered if a human sufficiently distant from one would feel like he did at that moment.

Megatron stood to the side of the portal, gesturing towards its entrance to the Autobots, as if he were a trained servant. And as everybody watched his eyes, Raf found himself on the Colossus's foot. Part of his brain was screaming at him that this was a horrible idea, but the rest didn't care. He had to follow.

"You first." Arcee pointed to the portal.

Megatron feigned a bow, not even slightly approaching the height of the motorcycle-bot. "As you wish." He turned and hopped through the portal, while the Autobots turned around to regard their human friends.

Once he was through, Megatron looked around the massive, spherical cavern he was in, and looked down at the catwalk he was standing on.

"If you are going to hitch a ride without the Autobots knowing," Megatron said, reaching down to his foot and grabbing Raf by the shirt, "my back is not the best hiding location." He craned his neck and dropped him into his chest cavity. "Enjoy the ride, little one. See where the quest for knowledge takes you."

The other Autobots emerged from the portal, with Bumblebee lagging behind them. They regarded their new surroundings with awe. The sound of the heartbeat reverberated off of the walls, within Megatron's hollow chest, and inside Raf's skull.

"So, how long before Unicron knows we're here?" Arcee asked.

"_Make no mistake,"_ Raf muttered in unison with Megatron, _"He already does."_

_A purple glow, snaking like veins across the land._

_A Face of Darkness._

_Cracks in the façade._

_Destruction._

Raf opened his eyes again, trying to recover from the blinding light of the vision. Barely able to move in his makeshift hiding spot, he adjusted himself and to his left saw a purple crystal, glowing with energy, pulsing light throughout the rest of Megatron's body. At the place it touched, Megatron's internals looked… corrupted, even considering the robot's jagged, fractal aesthetic. Raf backed away from it as far as he could, which was, in the cramped space, about a foot away. He pushed against the opposite wall with his feet to stabilize himself, but he couldn't take his eyes off of the glow.

"Unicron grows ever stronger." Megatron whispered. His body jerked, and Raf realized that the robot had collapsed to the ground and was standing up, having had the same vision he had.

Raf stayed silent as his ride kept walking.

* * *

"Unicron's spark is near." Megatron announced to the group behind him.

Inside, Raf could feel the pull from outside of the chest cavity. Between that and the crystal inside Megatron, the pulsing in his brain had reached a steady vibration, impossible to ignore no matter what he tried to think about.

Megatron stepped forward a bit more, Raf guessed he didn't move more than a few yards before he stopped again, and turned around sharply. "He's preparing to expel us." He warned the Autobots. Raf's eyed widened as the servo behind him adjusted 90 degrees and warmed up, and he realized that he was leaning on Megatron's fusion cannon accelerator when the sounds of blaster fire echoed around him. With each adjustment in aim bumping his shoulder against the walls, Raf consoled himself for the next 30 seconds with the knowledge that Megatron seemed to prefer standing still and shooting at things with his arm cannon.

Raf was wrong. Horribly, painfully wrong. Megatron, it seemed, was quite the martial artist, because whatever he was fighting out there, he jumping, ducking, twisting, and kicking it. Raf felt like he would vomit and… good lord, did Megatron just do a backflip? It was when Megatron backed into something though, that Raf was sent flying into the crystal, and lost consciousness.

* * *

"_Megatron. Do as I command. Destroy the Prime!"_

Raf's eyes shot open. The voice. It wasn't speaking to him for once. The crystal was shining bright like a crazy diamond, and its energy glowed throughout Megatron's circuits, so Raf could actually see. He used the opportunity to check himself for bruises.

He was fine, not at all like he had just taken a ride through the galaxy's most malevolent washing machine. How could that-

And the glow returned to normal, and Megatron was fighting again, and screaming in agony. The part of Raf that wasn't terrified wondered if he was doing this on purpose, or if Megatron had forgotten about his little passenger.

"Unicron's spark lies just beyond!" Megatron growled.

"How do we get inside?" he heard Optimus ask.

"By fooling Unicron's defenses into believing we're not a threat."

The crystal glowed again, and with it, so did Raf. The fire in him roared in approval. Whatever it was pulling him to, he was so close that he could practically taste it. His entire circulatory system was visible through his pale skin, its purple glow forming an aura over him. He banged at Megatron's chest cavity. He wanted, more than anything, to claw his way out and see what lay beyond. It was right there. He just needed to see it.

A door of some kind opened, and Megatron ran through it. Raf could feel the rage of a thousand white hot blinding suns of hateful fury out there.

"Optimus. I feel as though I have not been entirely honest with you." Megatron said.

"What do you mean, Megatron?" Optimus demanded.

"I may have brought along an uninvited guest for our rendezvous with destiny. A friend of yours, I believe."

"What?!"

Megatron's chest cavity folded open, revealing his dark energon shard… and Raf. He pulled Raf out and placed him down. Raf looked up at Optimus, and then to the massive purple sun in the center of the room. He looked back at Optimus, mouthed, "I'm sorry", and broke into a dead sprint towards the center of the room. He had to know. He had to _feel_ it.

"Rafael, don't!" Optimus shouted before a band of energy arced from the massive anti-spark and struck him, bringing him to the ground. "Megatron…" he sputtered. "Why?"

"You do not give the human enough credit. It was he who came with me, and I do not believe even he knows why."

Raf was close now, and he reached out his hand to touch it, and he could swear he saw a hand reach out to touch him as well before the world went black.

* * *

"_Rafael…"_

Rafael was floating, suspended in warmth and safety given physical form. Inky blackness stretch infinitely before him and a purple sun that he dared not look at raged behind him. He could stay there forever. Was he dead?

"_Welcome, Rafael."_

Raf turned around and saw the face of pure evil staring back at him.

"Who _are_ you?" Raf asked, floating towards it.

"_I… am Unicron."_

"Why are you doing this to me?" Raf demanded.

"_I have summoned you here for a purpose."_

"A… purpose?"

"_Yes. It pleases me to see that my children possess such an insatiable curiosity."_

"What do you want from me?"

"_This is my command: you are to destroy the Prime, and the Matrix of Leadership. It is the one thing… the only thing… that stands in my way."_

Raf's eyed the thing, confused. "Are you crazy? How would I do that? _Why_ would I do that? He's my friend, I would never betray him! He and the Autobots are my family!"

"_You exaggerate."_

"The point is that I won't do it! You plan to destroy us all, and he and the Matrix will save me!"

"_The point is, you are a fool. You will do this because, according to the disciple of Primus, you and your brethren are my progeny. Even now my blood flows through your feeble veins. You will do this because my Chaos is the foundation of the free will and life that you so enjoy. And you will do this because I have commanded it. And you must obey."_

"Why should I?" Raf demanded of the primordial god of chaos and destruction. "Give me a good reason or… or leave me alone!"

"_Your bargaining posture is highly dubious. But very well. I will spare your people, and all of the other organisms that call my body their home. I will empower you and your species against all manner of threats that may befall them."_

"I'm not a monster like you. I won't just turn my back on my friends because a stranger offered me superpowers. Just wait, we'll stop you and… and…"

"_And nothing. You belong to me now."_

"You're pure evil. I'll never help you!"

"_Perhaps I misjudged you and your people."_ Unicron's face declared, his eyes glowing red. _"Proceed, on your way to oblivion."_

Nothing happened. Unicron's face winced in pain and twisted in rage.

"_Megatron… you absolute fool!"_ Unicron roared. _"If I desire my will to be done, I will do it myself. And just in case…" _Unicron's maw opened and stream of purple and green flame shot forth, coiling around Raf before focusing in and plunging in his chest. Raf felt like every cell in his body was ready to explode. When the stream stopped, he was completely engulfed in it. The face closed its eyes and its brow furrowed as if it were concentrating elsewhere. The endless void began to crackle with energy and distort around them both, and in the distance, infinitely far away, a point of blue light appeared. It pierced through the purple veil and shot past Raf directly into Unicron's forehead. The beam focused on his forehead for five seconds before it cut, but the damage was done. Multiple cracks began to appear on Unicron's face and spread throughout his body, glowing with more blue energy. Raf shielded his eyes and the Chaos Bringer exploded with a brilliant flash of blue and purple light, blasting Raf backwards through the abyss…

And into the cold hard ground of the original chamber. He slammed onto his shoulder, and heard his arm snap over the sounds of crackling energy and robotic movement.

"Ouch." He mumbled, and rolled onto his back. Looking off to the side, he saw Optimus lying on the ground, his internals smoking. For a second his heart skipped and he wondered if his defiance was pointless, but he sighed in relief when he saw the Prime cough, which was weird considering his lack of a respiratory system, and push onto his knees.

The fear came back when he saw Megatron groan, cradle his forehead, and stand up.

"Teamwork… humph." The Decepticon scoffed as he readied his blade and strode over to Optimus. "It is a shame about your human friend, Optimus. I had honestly expected something interesting to happen."

Optimus blinked and looked up at Megatron as he readied to stab him. "Where are we, Megatronus?" He asked, confused.

Megatron's eyes widened for a moment, and smiled. He retracted his blade and stuck out his hand to pull Optimus up. "Don't you remember, old friend?"

There was a crash on the other side of the room. Raf groaned and rotated his head _again_ to see what it was. The other three Autobots had broken through the door.

"Optimus, are you okay?" Bulkhead shouted across the room.

"Why did he call me that?" Optimus asked Megatron.

"What did you do to him?" Arcee demanded.

"Who are they?" Optimus asked again, still confused.

"Rafael!" Bumblebee beeped, noticing the injured boy in the middle of the room. "How did you-"

A Ground Bridge portal opened behind Megatron and Optimus.

"Our mortal enemies!" Megatron declared, seizing the opportunity. He nudged Optimus towards the portal. "We're outnumbered! Go! I'll cover you!" He began firing at the Autobots, who ducked out of the way of his blasts. Bumblebee sprinted for Raf and scooped him up. This was exactly as painful as one would imagine it to be, as his giant metal hands were not particularly designed to delicately lift injured human children. Megatron scowled and ran through the portal, which closed behind him. Arcee swiped at the spot where it was and growled in frustration.

"Raf… What are you doing here?" Bee buzzed.

"No questions," Raf groaned, "coma time now." And he closed his eyes and welcomed the sweet embrace of the cousin of death.

* * *

AN: Why yes, a great deal of dialogue _did_ come directly from the episode in question. This will change as the timeline diverges. Which it will. Immensely. Since I've already written up to chapter 11, I feel comfortable releasing new chapters each week on Sunday afternoons. Reviews and predictions are always appreciated.


	2. Awakening

"_Do not forget what you have learned from our past, Rodimus. From its lessons, the future is forged."_

-Optimus Prime, Primax Cluster

* * *

_Weak. You cannot remain weak._

Raf's eyes shot open and he sat up straight, panting and sweating as if he had woken up from a terrible nightmare. But it couldn't have been a nightmare. His brain could never create something as horrifying as what he had seen before. It was power and fear and anger and chaos and destruction and hatred all rolled into one. And he definitely didn't imagine breaking his arm. That was definitely real. He had seen it, heard it, and felt it.

_Ah, but did you taste it?_

Raf smiled at the joke, and began to take in his surroundings. He was in a hospital. A _real_ hospital. That much was obvious. There was a cast on his arm, pretty fresh by the looks of it. The sun's rays streamed through the window, and on his other side, he saw a bunch of "get well" cards and flowers, and even a new remote control car. He looked up and saw the IV drip leading into his other arm.

"Oh, Raf, you're up!" sounded the voice of nurse Darby, who had entered the room with a tray of food. "How're you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually, Miss Darby." Raf asked, giving his arm an experimental flex. "What's going on? How did I get here?"

"That car banged you up pretty good." Agent Fowler interrupted, walking in, absolutely stone-faced. "It's a good thing Nurse Darby was around with an ambulance to get you to a hospital."

"Car?" Raf asked, confusedly. "But Bumblebee didn't-"

"That car banged you up pretty good," Agent Fowler repeated in the same voice, "don't you remember? You were crossing the street to get home from computer club when an illegal street racer in a red muscle car hit you. Isn't that what happened, June." It was not a question.

June looked away, not wanting to meet either of their eyes. "Yes. You were hit by a car."

"And anything Raf might think he saw involving being injured by giant robots from space is absolute nonsense that he will never repeat to anybody, even me, _especially_ over electronic communications of any kind, right?"

Raf looked down. "Yes, Agent Fowler."

"Because," Agent Fowler's voice began to crack, "if, hypothetically, such an account were true, that would mean that you would not only never see your friends again, your family would be forced to relocate to another town by some kind of shadowy government agency with more budget than morals. It would mean that the agent in said government agency in charge of these robots would be in a ridiculous amount of trouble for allowing a twelve year old to get hurt. It would mean that any such alien robots, if they existed, would be ejected from the country and possibly the planet, starting with the most cooperative ones."

_Interesting._

"I understand, Agent Fowler."

Fowler's features softened and he put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're feeling better, son. And you have a friend waiting to pick you up once the discharge papers are filled out. He's been practically buzzing with impatience."

"Bee's here?!"

_No, it is Bulkhead._

"Yeah, so sit tight. I'll go fill out the forms." Agent Fowler walked out.

When Fowler was gone, June looked back at Raf. "The doctors say that the cast will come off in six weeks, and that you should avoid any strenuous activity until then. Most of your bruising and scrapes healed up pretty quickly. If I were your mother, I'd tell you to stay home more, but I can't actually make you do anything." And then she walked out.

_Six weeks? That is absolutely unacceptable. This damage is insignificant._

An hour later, he was being wheeled out to a Bumblebee with Agent Fowler in the driver's seat. "Your family's at work and school now, so I figure I'll take you to base for the day."

"Sure thing, Agent Fowler." Raf said. Raf found himself distracted by how blurry the world seemed to be. Had he fogged his glasses? He took them off and wiped them, and put them back on. Still blurry. He took them off again, and realized that he could see better without them. In fact, he could see perfectly.

_Poor eyesight should have been corrected long ago._

Not questioning his luck, he put his glasses in their case and held onto them in case his vision messed up again.

Bumblebee took the main road out of town and through the false wall into the Cold War missile silo that composed Autobot Outpost Omega One. Fowler stepped out took the elevator to his helipad, and Raf stepped out into the main room of the base. Bumblebee transformed up behind him once he was safely out. Ratchet was working on the Ground Bridge for something, and Miko was watching TV when she noticed them come in. Nobody actually spoke until Fowler was out.

"What's up, sleepyhead?" she called, running down the stairs to greet him.. "Did ya lose your glasses?"

"Yeah, but I don't need them anymore." Raf waved his hand in front of his face. "I can see fine now."

"You mean to tell me your optics just… repaired themselves?" Ratchet asked, standing up and wiping nonexistent sweat from his brow. "I was not aware humans could undo such developmental flaws during their normal life span."

"It's puberty, Ratchet." Miko explained. "When people grow up, things like that can happen. What, that doesn't happen to you?"

_Growing stronger…_

"Nonsense. Short of a major reformatting event or a spark transplant into a new chassis, Cybertronians remain as they were when they first took on a protoform mold." Ratchet explained. "I still do not see any design purpose in being born weak and vulnerable, and staying as such for the first one eighth of your life."

"Wow! So you were just, like… born old?"

"Born old?!" Ratchet sputtered. "No I was not… agh, forget it."

"Where's Jack?" Raf paused, "… and Optimus?"

"Jack's working at the KO Burger. Optimus is..." Miko looked away, sadly.

"Optimus has been captured by the Decepticons, and has lost his memories." Ratchet finished.

Raf hung his head in shame. He had distracted Bumblebee with his injuries. If he wasn't there, they would have been able to stop Megatron. "I'm sorry… I should never have-"

"Don't blame yourself, Raf." Miko said, wrapping an arm around him. "There's nothing you could have done."

"Miko is correct." Ratchet added. "That Megatron kidnapped you from under our noses was an unforgivable lapse in caution on our part, and so in fact we must apologize to you."

"But Megatron…" Raf began.

_Be silent, fool._

"It's not your fault, guys. Megatron's a master of deception." Raf finished.

"That is true, Rafael." Ratchet nodded, and returned to work

"Megatron's gonna pay for what he did." Bumblebee said, his eyes narrowing. "First he nearly kills you, and then he tries to drop you in the center of the Earth? That's over the line, even for him."

"Yeah…"

_Surely you do not lament allowing Megatron to take blame for this?_

No, that wasn't it. He just… He didn't know, it felt wrong somehow.

_It should not. It is Megatron that is to blame for your injuries. And what is one more grievance for the Autobots to hold against him?_

Raf nodded to himself. Yeah, that was right. He turned to Ratchet. "So what are you doing to the Ground Bridge?"

"I think he's trying to supercharge it so that Jack can go to space!"

"Don't get your hopes up, Miko." Ratchet insisted. "I'm only tinkering."

_Liar._

"Wait, why does Jack need to go to space?" Raf asked.

"Well, before Optimus left, he gave Jack the key to this giant alien supercomputer that's supposed to restore his memories, but it's all the way on Cybertron."

_The Key to Vector Sigma…_

"Vector Sigma can restore Optimus' memories?" Raf blurted out.

"That's the plan." Bumblebee hummed.

There was a pause.

"Wait." Ratchet said, stopping his work. "How did you know we are discussing Vector Sigma?"

Raf blanked out. It had just come to him. "I don't… remember."

Ratchet squinted and returned to work.

* * *

Raf woke up at home the next day, and happily noted that he still didn't need his glasses. His family was very excited to have him back home, and Raf wasn't quite used to being the center of attention. Being the smallest in a family of seven usually meant that he could do what he wanted with minimal scrutiny, but everybody in the house had insisted that he get plenty of rest, and be as comfortable as possible. His mother had even given him extra helpings at dinner.

_They want you to become stronger._

He got out of bed, put on his sling, and walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he finished, he took a moment to inspect his face. His vision had never been this good before. He could make out all of the pores and creases in his skin, and he could even see the beginnings of facial hair coming in.

_Facial hair? You are only twelve years old._

Twelve and a quarter. What. He definitely didn't think that.

_Of course you did not think it, boy. I did._

Raf dropped his toothbrush and took a step back. The reflection in the mirror didn't. It leaned in closer, and grinned maliciously.

"_Here I was led to believe that you were a young genius, and yet you fail to recognize your own personal _Deus Ex Psyche_?_"

"A… god in my mind?" Raf stammered, "Who…?"

"_Perhaps a visual aid would help."_ His reflection stood up straight, and its hair relaxed from its normal spikes into something of a bowl cut, save for two locks close to the front which curved upwards, like devil horns. It grew a long moustache and a two-pronged goatee, and its eyes shifted from white with brown to green with purple pupils. It cleared its throat several times, getting progressively deeper until it had settled on an echoing bass. It was like watching a childish, humanized form of-

"Unicron!"

"_Yes. I am Unicron. Lord of Chaos, Devourer of Worlds, Brother of Primus, and the End of All Things." _He declared before looking down at "his" body. _"And, in this universe, I am the Progenitor of Humanity, which is a title that has yet to fill me with any kind of pride."_

"How are you in my head?"

He sighed. _"When you immersed yourself in my anti-spark, I planted a simulacrum of my consciousness in the event that the Prime unleashed the power of the Matrix against me." _Unicron poked his chest. _"You were a perfect vessel because you were inadvertently personally infused with a rather spectacular dose of my blood by my… herald, Megatron."_

"So now you're controlling my mind?" Raf asked, fearfully.

"_No." _Unicron's brow furrowed. _"I realized as I was controlling Megatron and attempting to punish you for your impudence that I cannot override your will as I can the children of Primus. This is almost certainly because, by being born from the maelstrom of chaos around me, your free will cannot be compromised by simply introducing more chaos." _Unicron laughed, now. _"The irony is notable. I am the source of all chaos, and my children are too chaotic for me."_

"But that doesn't make sense. The Autobots have free will too."

Unicron slammed his unbroken hand on the sink, which did not actually make any noise. _"Do not compare Primus' automatons to what I have generated on this world. The Cybertronians are nothing but overly complex machines with programming directives and exceedingly sophisticated subroutines. Their free will is nothing but a deterministic feedback loop, self-reinforcing its own stagnation until their civilization collapsed under the weight of its own inefficiency and corruption. That is why I am able to bend them to my will so easily. They have no true will to begin with."_

"Then how did Megatron defy you?"

"_His abuse of my blood and power while I was dormant served to immunize him partially against me. His longing for dominance, it seems, was a critical part of his internal directives to the point that he was able to easily adapt to my own corruptive influence. This will not last."_

"So what do you want now?"

"_Now? I will change my strategy." _Unicron stroked his new beard. _"I made you an offer before, and with the Matrix powerless and the Prime effectively incapacitated, I will uphold my end of the bargain. I will protect your people and all life that I have created, and I will empower them against all manner of threats external to them. You are my progeny, and I will take care of you."_

"Really? That's all you'll do?" Raf asked in disbelief.

"_That is all that I promised. But you must cooperate if I am to use the full extent of my power. This vessel is weak as it is. I must fix that."_

"Rafael Jorge Gonzales Esquivel!" shouted his mother from outside the door. "You have been talking to yourself in that bathroom for ten minutes! You are going to be late for school."

"_Your mother awaits, 'God's Healer'. We will speak more, later." _Unicron laughed again and faded back into Raf's reflection.

Raf straightened up the bathroom and opened the door.

"Rafael," His mother snapped when he walked out. "What was taking you so long in there?"

"I was just… talking to myself, mama."

"Well hurry up and get dressed. Drink some water too. You look like you've seen a ghost."

* * *

_This system is horribly inefficient. Too rigid for knowledge to be effectively transferred and retained. The material barely scratches the surface of your mental capacities._

"What?" Raf asked. Unicron had taken to speaking in his head using his actual voice instead of Raf's, and it was taking a bit to get used to.

"Is there a problem, Rafael?" His history teacher asked from his desk.

"No, Mr. Swanson." Raf answered.

"Then don't interrupt. I doubt you've finished reading already."

Raf returned to the chapter of the history book he had been assigned to read, and repeated his question in his mind.

_This system of learning. It is based on some kind of assembly line structure, clearly. Yet you are clearly not the same, so why are you treated as such?_

Was he seriously going to have this conversation right now? He had to finish reading or he would get chewed out again.

_Turn to the beginning of the book._

Why?

_Do as I command._

Raf sighed and turned to the beginning. The inner flame that was Unicron moved to his eyes, giving the world a tint of purple, and snaked a pattern through his brain.

_OK, read._

Raf turned the first page and scanned it before reading.

_Turn the page._

Again, Raf gave the page a cursory glance before Unicron told him to turn the page. This cycle repeated for about five minutes before Raf realized that he had reached the end of the book. The purple tint winked out and Unicron's influence returned back to a spot in the center of his mind. As it did, Raf felt a flood of information wash over him. The whole book. He read an entire history textbook in five minutes.

_A biased and oversimplified history book. Do not be so excited. We will require superior reading materials later._

Raf swore to head to the school library every day after class was over. It wasn't like he'd have anything better planned.

_That will do._

* * *

It was after five weeks of devouring every book in the library that Raf wondered what Unicron actually planned to do with this information. They had moved into the "Myths and Legends" section, and Raf had just finished reading about Osiris and his golden… prosthetic.

_Do you presume to question my methods?_

Being trapped in the head of a prepubescent boy had done little to teach Unicron anything approaching humility.

_Humility? I have destroyed nearly one fourth of all known universes, and you think I would become some sort of kindly old man through the power of friendship or other such nonsense? We have read enough to know that such things do not ever happen in the real world._

Still, Raf wanted to know what the point was. He hadn't actually spent any time in the Base in weeks. His only contact with the Autobots was when Bumblebee drove him home from late nights at the library, and they barely spoke because Raf was too busy reading the books that he took home.

_With your arm incapacitated, I cannot begin to improve your body during its maturation cycle without arousing suspicion, so I am doing what I can to improve your knowledge base in the meantime. Well, seemingly incapacitated, anyway._

What did that mean?

_I healed your arms three days after you were discharged from the hospital. However, that was abnormal and I did not wish to attract attention before the time was right._

Unicron could heal him, just like that? And… Improve his body?

_Perhaps you do not fully understand. I am the Omega. I am a god. Created in my image, you are mine to mold as I see fit. I can remove imperfections as easily as you would pick at a scab. The urge is nearly as compelling, too._

How would a chaos god define an "imperfection"?

_Do not get smart with me, boy. Evolutionarily maladaptive traits, degenerative mutations, anything which would diminish your viability in my biosphere._

His biosphere?

_Yes. MY biosphere._

One of these days, they were going to have a serious talk about just what kind of relationship this was.

_This is not a relationship among equals. I am the almighty father, and you are my child. And we are finished._

Finished? What did he mean-

_Reading. We have finished reading._

Raf blinked. During the conversation, he had managed to read through the last of the books in the library.

He hadn't even realized that he had gotten up from the desk.

* * *

Nurse Darby cut off the cast a week later.

"Well, Raf, that's that." She said, clapping a bit as she made the last cut and pulled the remaining bits off. "How does it feel?"

"Kind of numb." Raf rubbed his arm with his other hand. "But other than that, not too bad."

"Yeah, that happens." She sighed. "It actually looks pretty good, though. Most people have some kind of muscle atrophy after something like this, but yours looks fine."

"Yeah…"

"All the better to shoot some hoops, right?" June giggled. "Jack's been telling me that you've been spending all of your time in the school library, reading. The others miss you."

_How heartwarming. Perhaps we should pay them a visit._

"Really? I guess I should probably drop by. Maybe Ratchet's made some progress on his Space Bridge."

"Maybe…" June's voice hardened. "All the sooner for Jack to go to space."

_The Prime truly entrusted a human boy to restore him? On the one hand, I feel honored. On the other, the collective wisdom of the Primes has clearly gone senile with age._

"Jack's gonna do fine." Raf said, not quite sure to whom. "Optimus knew what he was doing."

_If you say so._

"If you say so." June echoed, and smiled faintly. "Go on, Bumblebee's waiting outside."

* * *

"Well, if it isn't our old bookworm!" Bulkhead joked when he saw Raf step out of Bumblebee. "We were starting to think you'd forgotten about us!"

"Yeah, Raf," said Miko, "Was the library really that interesting?"

"Hold on, Miko." Ratchet interjected, "If Rafael chooses to spend his leisure time expanding his knowledge base, we should not discourage him."

"Ratchet does have a point, Miko." Bulkhead admitted. "I saw your report card. Maybe you should take a page from his book… so to speak."

Miko just crossed her arms and stuck a tongue out at Raf.

"So where's Jack? I haven't seen him in a while, either."

"Workin' the drive-thru, as usual." Miko answered. "Arcee is out riding. They should be back in about an hour or so."

_It is a shame I cannot speak to these children directly. They truly do represent the future of your race._

Raf chuckled involuntarily. No. That was mean.

_You laughed._

"Now that you are here, Raf, perhaps you might want to assist me with the Ground Bridge." Ratchet called out. "Your absence has made me realize that perhaps I could use a second opinion in my work."

"Really, Ratchet?" Raf questioned, startled, "But… I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Just read my notes. I will condense everything I know about Ground Bridge technology into one document. Read it at your leisure tomorrow."

Unicron laughed.

* * *

Raf really wasn't looking forward to school today. Now that his arm was healed, it meant that he would have to return to gym class. He had to admit, he had started to enjoy spending the hour in the library, devouring books en masse.

"_Really?" _Unicron!Raf mocked in the mirror. _"Your culture sees fit to train your body without expectation of military service, and you complain?"_

"You wouldn't understand. We have to climb ropes today. I hate climbing ropes, I barely get four feet off of the ground before I get scared and come back down."

Unicron closed his eyes. _"Yes, I see. That is quite embarrassing. Worry not, Rafael. You have become quite strong since I have joined you, thanks to me. I maintain full confidence that you will accomplish your goal on this day."_

Raf looked at himself. He had become a fair bit more muscular over the past weeks. It was noticeable even before his cast was removed.

_I would have done more, but twelve year olds do not usually have the muscles of _Pan Troglodytes_."_

"Twelve and a quarter." Raf insisted.

"_I bet it's a very big quarter." _Unicron smirked.

"RAFAEL! You missed your bus!" His mother shouted. "Don't think I am driving you!"

Scrap.

_Run._

Raf grabbed his bag and a piece of toast, and bolted out the door after the bus. It had already turned the corner by the time he reached the sidewalk. There was nothing to do but run and catch it at the next stop. He ran at a brisk jog and found that he was keeping pace with the bus fairly easily. At this rate he'd meet it at the next stop in no time. Another corner. He had definitely chased this bus for about three blocks now. It had to stop soon.

_Are you not the last stop for the bus?_

Double scrap, he was. He ran faster. He was practically sprinting now. The bus came closer to him. Was it slowing down? Maybe he could knock on the door while it was moving and get the driver to stop. He ran at top speed. The bus had to have been slowing down now, he was so close.

Finally, he reached the bus and smacked at the door. The bus driver looked at him in shock and stopped the bus.

"What's the problem, kid?" he asked.

"I need a ride to school." Raf said quickly, only slightly out of breath.

"Are you kidding? You're at school."

Raf turned around, and saw that he was right.

_Faster._

* * *

"Alright, Esquivel, you're up!" Coach Haverford shouted, gesturing to the rope hanging from the middle of the gymnasium.

Rafael stepped forward and gulped. "Are you sure?" He rubbed his arm. "My arm is still feeling a bit sore…"

_We both know that is a lie._

"Just climb the rope and see if you can get higher than four feet this time, OK, Rafael?" The coach sighed. "You can't do this every day."

_Remember, Rafael. Do not believe in yourself. Believe in the manifestation of willpower that believes in you._

Raf nodded and reached out to the rope. His heart was already pounding.

_Close your eyes and climb._

Raf shut his eyes and gripped the rope with his other hand. Pulling himself up slightly, he braced his legs against the robe and shimmied slowly up the rope.

_Use your arms. Climb. You are not a literal worm. Faster._

Still afraid to open his eyes, Raf reached out further and further with each pull, and felt himself move higher and higher. After a few pulls he smacked his hands on something solid and heard a bell ring. He opened his eyes and saw that he had reached the top without realizing it.

"Nice job, Esquivel!" The coach shouted from beneath him. "That wasn't so bad, was it? I think that might have been one of the fastest times I've seen!"

Raf smiled weakly and made the mistake of looking down. He immediately regretted the decision and clung more tightly to the rope.

"OK, climb down. You're good for the day."

"Can't!" Raf shouted back. "Too scared."

The coach smacked his head with the clipboard. "Are you joking right now?"

_I am rapidly losing faith in humanity._

Raf closed his eyes again and slowly began climbing down. He was about halfway down when he tangled his feet and fell off of the rope. The world slowed down, and the twenty foot drop seemed to drag out longer then it had any right to.

_No. Absolutely not. We are not doing this again._

Raf was on fire. The same purple flame that lived in his mind now engulfed his entire body. Instinctively, he twisted around in mid-air and placed his arms out in front of him to brace for the impact, and did it just in time to make contact with the blue padding that was set out on the floor. He groaned as all the air escaped from his lungs.

"Damnit. Someone, call the nurse for Esquivel." The coach shouted.

"No, wait!" Raf shouted, pushing himself up to his knees. "I'm fine!"

"What? Kid, that was a 12 foot drop."

Raf dusted himself off and rolled his arm around in his socket, and hopped from foot to foot. "Yeah but… I feel fine."

_Stronger._

* * *

"So how was school today, Raf?" Bumblebee whistled as Raf stepped inside him.

_More intense._

"It was awesome!" Raf beamed. "I made it to the top of the rope in almost record time!"

_And you made it back down even faster._

"Well hey, man, I knew you could do it" Bee beeped, and sped off to the base.

When they got to the base, Raf ran up the staircase to the human-sized port of Teletraan-I, the Autobot supercomputer, and plugged in his laptop.

"OK, Rafael." Ratchet said, finishing up on his console. "If you look, you can see where I translated most, if not all, of our data on Cybertronian engineering. I abridged it to the best of my ability."

Raf nodded and pulled it up. Wow. This was Ratchet's idea of condensing data? His computer said that there was over a Terabyte of plain text and the occasional diagram here and there. This would take weeks to read.

_Ahem. Hours._

Right. His eyes blazed with purple fire that coiled around the learning and visual processing areas of his brain, and he began to read.

This was amazing. This level of technology was centuries ahead of anything human scientists could even begin to dream of! And the worst part was that once he understood it, it just seemed so… basic. It was like reading a book on flight once you knew about the principles of lift, drag, and thrust. Once he understood the principles of space folding and cold fusion, he couldn't un-know it. He felt like he could probably explain it to anybody with even a rudimentary knowledge of engineering.

_Stop getting distracted. This is a large amount of data. And your body will need rest for tomorrow._

What was to be done tomorrow? It was a Saturday.

_Later. Read._

Unicron was right. It did take hours. He actually had a headache when he finished absorbing all of the information later that night. He brain was practically on fire.

_No. That is just me._

Unicron receded again to his normal place in the back of his mind. It was kind of weird that Unicron had free reign of his mind, but Raf could only hear Unicron when it spoke to him.

_Please. Your mind could not even begin to tolerate the stresses that would come with free access to even a fraction of my consciousness. You would go mad from the revelations. If you so desire constant conversation, speak to your precious little friends, not to me._

Raf sighed and stepped into Bumblebee. Was he making a mistake, not telling his friends about his new head-mate?

_NO. They could not even begin to understand the potential I offer. Just as you are my child, they are the children of my brother. They could not hope to remove me from you, and they would surely waste a great deal of time, energy, and stress attempting to do so. I do not plan to harm them at this time, as they are no threat to me or my people, so think on this no longer._

Raf nodded to himself and was silent again all the way home.

"You OK?" Bumblebee whistled, concerned.

"Yeah Bee, just… got a lot on my mind." He said as the Autobot pulled into his driveway.

_You must think that was clever._

Raf stumbled up the stairs and into his room. He looked at the clock. 10 PM. Not that late. But he felt more tired than ever. He collapsed in bed without hesitation. But still… what was he doing tomorrow?

_The same thing we'll do every day: Try to take over the world._

* * *

AN: Yeah I know I said Sundays, but unless I make some serious edits to Chapter 3 by Sunday, it will be something of a weak chapter, and I thought to myself, man, if I waited two whole weeks to get this chapter and the next one, I might be disappointed. So here's chapter 2 a couple of days early, and Chapter 3 will be moved up to this coming Sunday.

Things really hit their stride in Chapter 4, so get hype. And if anybody happens to be really good at drawing and wants to draw a cover for this, message me because I have a great image in mind that I unfortunately cannot put to paper.

As always, reviews, predictions, and criticism are eagerly awaited.


	3. Nothing Changes

"_You primitive life forms are so easily entertained."_

-Megatron, Malgus Cluster

* * *

Ratchet?! You awake?" Agent Fowler asked over the comm. "This is an emergency!"

"Is it Optimus?"

"It's 'Cons! And they're hitting the same military research lab they hit two months ago."

"Another Space Bridge?" Bulkhead asked.

"But for all we know, Optimus is riding with them." Arcee noted.

"Roll Out!" Ratchet ordered as he opened the Ground Bridge.

Raf looked at the screen and saw the live feed of the military base's security camera. The main building had a humongous hole in the site that was pouring out smoke and flame, and a few dozen soldiers had taken aim outside at the hole. Most were armed with M-4s and the occasional SMAW. It looked like they had chosen to take cover behind the burning wreckage of a set of Jeeps. The base shook and the soldiers took a step back, and Breakdown charged through the hole carrying a power generator and opened fire with his shoulder mounted laser.

The troops returned fire at the unmissable target to no avail. The rounds simply bounced off of him and the rockets only scratched his paint.

_Pathetic._

Looking at another view, Raf saw a line of Abrams tanks come over a hill to assault the Decepticons. They barely got within half a mile before Knockout strode out of the hole with his laser prod and wiped them out in one shot

_Shameful display. Is this truly the best your race can do?_

It was if they didn't want to just wipe out the base entirely.

_Unacceptable._

Bulkhead emerged from the Ground Bridge first. "Drop the power source!" he shouted, charging towards the Decepticons, with Bumblebee and Arcee behind him.

"Aren't you missing someone?" Knockout mocked.

The Autobots took aim, only to be strafed by a trio of flying Vehicons. The fired at their aerial attackers and Knockout activated his own radio. "We're ready for that Bridge!" he shouted over the laser fire, and a portal opened up behind him. Breakdown charged through first, but Knockout stopped to taunt. "We'll be sure to tell the big O you said hello!"

Arcee scowled and transformed, weaving around explosions and jumping through the Ground Bridge just before it closed. Her signal vanished immediately, probably because of the shielding on the Decepticon ship.

_This must be rectified. If I am to stand a chance at expelling these invaders, humanity will need to increase its military capabilities far beyond this level._

What, like by giving humans weapons of mass destruction? That was a horrible idea! The world would tear itself apart with them. Unicron knew that, they'd both read the same books.

_You still have not learned. So long as humanity remains under threat from alien automatons, they will remain unified against their common foe. In their current state, when just two Decepticons are enough to destroy a military installation, my world is in persistent danger of conquest and slavery. I refuse to rely on the Autobots to be everywhere._

Wait, his world?

_Yes. My world. You would not claim that your body belongs to the lice just because they live in your hair._

Raf reached for his head, self-consciously.

_You do not actually have lice, fool._

* * *

"You weren't able to determine the Decepticons' location, or if Optimus was even aboard ship?" Ratchet asked Arcee as he inspected her knee for injuries after her impromptu tour through the Nemesis that ended with her being teleport-dumped into the arctic.

_Humorous._

"I couldn't confirm." Arcee sighed.

Bulkhead growled and smashed his fist on Ratchet's workbench, crushing something Raf couldn't see from his vantage point.

"Bulkhead!" Ratchet shouted, exasperated.

"What?" He snapped back. "You needed that? Only thing I need is our head honcho back."

"It's not your fault." Jack assured Arcee.

"If any of us needed rescuing, Optimus would have found a way." Arcee lamented. "I didn't. Simple as that."

"Ratchet!" Agent Fowler shouted from the comm-screen. "What happened out there? Reports indicate at least a dozen wounded. The heat's on me to provide some explanation."

_Far more than that.  
_

"You 'Bots better get your act together," Fowler continued, "or the Pentagon will make me shut down your base."

"But, where would you go?" Raf asked, ignoring Unicron's comments.

"Who knows? Maybe they'll ship us out to some island." Ratchet threw his hands into the air. "Or fire us into space. Wouldn't that be a welcome relief?"

_Perhaps in another world._

"I don't blame Fowler." Arcee declared. "Optimus would have evacuated all humans from the area before engaging the 'Cons."

Bumblebee buzzed his concurrence.

"We don't actually know what Optimus would have done because he's not here!" Bulkhead growled.

"You're pretty good at stating the obvious, Bulk." Arcee stood up and looked up at him, defiantly. "Anything else you'd like to mention that we already know?"

Bulkhead leaned to her height. "Nothing I can say in front of the children."

_Truly an adaptable, well-oiled machine. My children are in excellent hands._

"Hey!" Jack interrupted in an attempt to stop the fight. "Aren't we overlooking one positive? Nobody's talking about what the 'Cons just got their claws on."

_A nuclear reactor, I believe._

Ratchet scoffed. "Yes. We've managed to allow them to finally acquire a power source for their Space Bridge."

"And how exactly would that be a positive?" Arcee questioned.

"We let them finish building their Space Bridge." Jack suggested.

_Surely he cannot be suggesting…_

"Why?" Bulkhead asked angrily. "So they can bring more zombies back from Cybertron?"

"No, so we can commandeer it and use it to send me to Cybertron."

"Whoa." Miko thought. "That's a pretty good idea."

"Ho-ho!" Arcee laughed. "Well if Miko thinks it's a good idea…"

"Nobody's saying it will be easy," Jack argued. "But you've seized a space bridge before."

"We blew one up!" Bulkhead corrected. "That's a whole lot different than three of us seizing and holding one."

"Don't forget finding one." Bumblebee added.

"Bee's right." Arcee translated for convenience, "We'd have to find the thing first."

"Uh, Hello?!" Miko announced. "If it's a Space Bridge, isn't it...?" she pointed up.

"The term 'space' refers to its transport range, not its physical location." Ratchet explained, as if Miko had not made a reasonable inference from the sight of the large portal she had seen in orbit several months ago. "And we've been monitoring Earth's orbits since the last one. We'd know if it were there."

"So the bridge could be right here on Earth." Jack realized.

"Like trying to find a servo in a scrap yard." Bulkhead said.

"Then we better start looking." Arcee decided.

_Jack is quite brave. His potential is wasted on such a foolish endeavor as to save the Prime._

Was Unicron going to let this happen without trying to stop him?

_I cannot exactly stop him. But here, inside you? The Prime is no danger to me anymore, even if he located the Spark of Primus himself. So long as you remain silent, that is._

"But the fact remains, we do not know what the Decepticons have in store for Optimus." Ratchet reminded the group. "Or if he is truly safe from harm."

* * *

"Rafael, is the test subject ready?" Ratchet asked a few hours later.

The two of them were still attempting to work out improvements on the Ground Bridge while the other 'Bots searched, in case Jack's plan didn't pan out. Unicron was being even more unhelpful than usual.

_I see no reason to aid a disciple of Primus in any way. If you work against my interests, then you will work alone._

"Check." Raf declared, putting down the radio controlled car and activating the remote. "Long-range GPS activated."

"I have doubts whether my recalibrations have successfully extended Ground Bridge range, but there is only one way to find out." Ratchet pulled the lever to activate the portal.

Raf drove the car through the tunnel, and as it approached the event horizon, it crackled with energy… and exploded.

_Such a shame._

"It was just the first try." Raf sighed to Ratchet.

"No, Rafael." The medic shook his head. "It was pure folly. A misguided act of desperation. It takes eons to master Space Bridge engineering." He looked away from Raf. "And no one is more accomplished than the Decepticons…"

"You know, there's this thing in gym class where you have to climb a rope, all the way to the ceiling." Raf began. "It's really hard, and I'd never been able to do it. But when I told a friend about it, he believed in me."

_I am not your friend._

"Finally," Raf continued, "just a couple of weeks ago, I made it. To the top."

"What does any of this have to do with gym class?!" Ratchet demanded.

_If at first you do not succeed, make a Faustian Pact._

"I was just… I'll give you some alone time." Raf back up to his work area and sat down silently.

"Optimus…" Ratchet muttered. "I am so sorry."

Bulkhead came in through the Ground Bridge a few minutes later. "No sign of energon spikes. Arcee or Bee find a Space Bridge?"

"They haven't yet reported back." Ratched replied, not meeting Bulkhead's optics.

"Ratchet, you alright?" Bulkhead asked, concerned.

"Hmm?" Ratchet stood up straight and shook his head. "Yes. Yes, let's just get you to the next quadrant."

Raf perked up when the computer rang suddenly.

"What is it?" Bulkhead asked, following Ratchet to the console.

"A high frequency signal… with an embedded message… for me."

"Optimus?" Bulkhead blurted out, excited.

Ratchet opened the message, and Starscream's face appeared.

"I have obtained information regarding your leader." He read aloud. "Bring medical kit. Come alone."

Ratchet punched in the coordinates given and activated the portal.

"You're not really going to meet Starscream alone, are you?" Raf questioned.

"Of course not." Ratchet scoffed and gestured for Bulkhead to follow him. They disappeared through the portal, leaving it open.

_It is regrettable that you are so limited in your information and resources, if the Decepticons are able to construct Space Bridges in secret repeatedly._

The Autobots were making the best of what they had. It wasn't their fault the Decepticons had a warship and an army.

_The best of what was given, you mean. This facility is a mere relic of a war that never happened. It is a living testament to over preparedness in the face of possible annihilation. Now it symbolizes unpreparedness and forestalling the inevitable. There must be better technology somewhere in this nation. Your school's books were not thorough on the subject. _

Well, the US government had plenty of secret research facilities like the one from which the Decepticons had stolen their power supply. And there was always MECH.

_MECH… they had piqued my interests during my initial scouring of your mind. They alone seem prepared for the threat posed by my brother's spawn._

The Autobots weren't a threat. The Autobots were here to protect earth! MECH had attacked them to steal the Dynamic Nuclear Generation System!

_At the least, we should find a way to focus their efforts in a more agreeable and productive manner._

Like that was going to happen. They seemed pretty hostile to outsiders.

_Do you blame them?_

Yes. Raf did.

Ratchet and Bulkhead stepped through the Ground Bridge, and Ratchet entered a new set of co-ordinates. Bulkhead radioed the others to return to base.

"The Decepticon Space Bridge is located right here, deep within an energon mine." Ratchet declared when they returned.

"Adjacent to a raw fuel supply." Arcee noted. "Clever. What's our intel?"

Bulkhead and Ratchet looked at each other. "A… reliable source." Ratchet nodded.

Arcee glared, suspiciously.

"So, do we have a consensus?" Ratchet turned to the humans, who had also met at the base.

"Do we know if people can even breathe your atmosphere?" June demanded.

"I'll hook Jack up." Agent Fowler said. "Completely state of the art. I still have connections at NASA."

"It's too dangerous." She protested.

_Of course. Stay on Earth, where it is safe._

"Mom, I know this is hard." Jack stepped forward. "But Optimus risked his life to save our planet, and he's not even human. We owe it to him."

"Jack may be the only one who can do this, June." Arcee insisted. "But I don't want you to think for one second that we'll allow him to travel unchaperoned."

"Not everyone is destined for an ordinary life." Ratchet noted. "Optimus Prime was once Orion Pax, after all."

June turned back to Jack and smiled weakly. "When you were little, you always wanted to be an astronaut."

"We will Ground Bridge directly into the energon mine, and make our way to the Space Bridge chamber," Ratchet announced, "neutralizing any Decepticon forces we encounter. Once we secure the Space Bridge, we'll send for Jack. Stealth must be an absolute priority. We will most certainly be outnumbered, and if any Decepticon should transmit an alert to their warship…"

"The odds become 400 to 1" Bulkhead finished.

_The Decepticon army numbers two thousand? Either he exaggerates or we must work faster._

Work faster? Unicron hadn't actually done anything for earth in the past two months except read!

_Do not blame me for your frail, useless body. I have a plan._

"Scrambling communications upon entry will most certainly provide an edge in this regard." Ratchet noted.

"Taking the Bridge is the easy part." Arcee remarked. "You'll need to hold it long enough for me and Jack to get to Cybertron and back."

"Rafael climbed to the top of the rope in gym class. We can do this." Ratchet assured them.

_Rafael has something you lack, Ratchet._

"What does gym class have to do with anything?" Miko scoffed. "And if Ratchet gets to go on a commando raid, I'm going too."

"Miko, you will help Rafael operate our Ground Bridge and manage the communications hub." Ratchet ordered.

_Help you? How can she possibly be helpful?_

"Can't go to Cybertron, can't storm the Decepticon Space Bridge…" Miko turned and stormed away, disappointed.

Ratchet turned to June. "And Nurse Darby will stand by in case of emergency."

"Son." Agent Fowler declared from the back of the room. "It's time to suit up."

"Strike team to base." Ratchet announced over the comm an hour later, "Objective secured."

"That's your cue." Fowler said to Jack.

Jack climbed down the ladder in his new spacesuit. It was considerably more advanced looking than anything Rafael had seen.

_Such attire might hold potential if it were battle-ready.  
_

Raf nodded to himself, not quite paying attention.

"Bring me back a souvenir." Raf told Jack.

"So, what happens when you have to go to the bathroom?" Miko asked.

"Safe journey, son." Said Agent Fowler.

"Just… go already." June said, drawing her son into a hug. "Optimus needs you."

Jack stepped back to salute them all, and then turned to walk through the Ground Bridge, vanishing in a flash.

A few minutes later, the flame that was Unicron flared up.

_**Primus.**__ I feel him through the Bridge. He lies just beyond. Weak, but he is there, in stasis, like I am. If I could only reach out and seize him!_

That was not part of the arrangement. Protecting Earth did not mean harming Cybertron.

_Do you believe that, you naïve fool? You will see the folly of relying on my accursed brother's spawn to protect you from their own brethren, in time. I only aim to ensure that I will not suffer from your sentimentality._

Why was it so hard for Unicron to understand that literally half of the Transformers only wanted peace and safety?

_They want me dead. The Prime. The one who took the name of Megatronus. They are two sides of the same cursed coin. Consider it mercy for your sake that I am plotting primarily to focus my wrath against the Decepticons._

"Space Bridge control, do you read me?" came a voice through the comm, "Space Bridge Control, this is Breakdown. Your status report is overdue."

This wasn't over.

_You do not command me._

"Come in, Space Bridge Control." Breakdown growled. "Don't make me come down there and dent some engine blocks."

"Somebody say something, pronto!" Fowler shouted into the private frequency.

"Rafael, patch in Agent Fowler!" Ratchet instructed.

Raf blinked out of his trance and slid his chair over to the desk and handed Fowler a different microphone.

"You have one nanocycle to respond, or-"

"This is Space Bridge Control." Fowler said, trying his best to sound monotonous. "Situation normal."

"Normal? You sure about that?"

"We were just calibrating the subsystems and we, uh, had a surge, but it's fine now." Fowler improvised. "How are you?"

Everyone collectively smacked their heads. Even Unicron seemed to blink in surprise.

"Uh. Never better." Breakdown replied after a pause. "I know it's thankless down there. Keep up the good work, huh?"

"Will do." Fowler readied his hand over the disconnect button. "Control out."

_I would like to note that in other universes, I took on the form of a mobile, moon-sized battle station. While I was never manned with a crew, if I was, and this exchange took place in any form, I would ensure that the operator would be ejected into a supernova for such incompetence, and I would devour his world if I had not already._

Raf could not help but agree.

"Guys, we're being attacked by some kind of giant… bot… beetle!" Jack shouted into his communicator even later.

_Eloquent._

"An Insecticon!" Ratchet shouted, panicked.

"What are Decepticons doing on Cybertron?" Raf asked.

_Well they do live there._

"A few remained in stasis," Ratchet explained, "sentries, should the enemy return."

_Insecticons do make excellent minions, I have found. Very loyal. See about making contact with one._

Sure. He'd get right on that.

There was the sound of blaster fire and something large shrieking. "Jack! Go!" Arcee shouted.

"Without Arcee?" June questioned. "She's his guide!"

"No, Nurse Darby. Arcee is Jack's backup." Ratchet corrected. "The Key is his guide."

More lasers, and then a roar.

"Jack! Do it!" Arcee urged again.

"Listen Jack, you've made it this far." June assured him. "Optimus is counting on you."

"Roger that, Mom." Jack reported.

_The fate of the Prime is literally in the hands of my children. The Universe does enjoy its cruel ironies._

"This is taking a while." Jack noted. He had already successfully reached Vector Sigma and was waiting for the information to download.

"Of course, we are talking about the collective wisdom of the Primes, after all." Ratchet pointed out.

Suddenly there was a whirring sound, like thousands of spinning razors.

"What?!" Jack screamed.

"What is it, Jack?" Ratchet asked.

"Scraplets." He answered, disgusted.

"What's a Scraplet?" June asked, worried.

"Why did it have to be Scraplets?" Bulkhead moaned.

"If they chew through Vector Sigma before the Matrix fully reloads…" Ratchet began.

"So, Vector Sigma IS more than legend." Interrupted the voice of Megatron. From the sounds of it, he had just Ground Bridged into the Space Bridge control chamber.

_The plot thickens._

"You Autobots have gone to impressive lengths to recover your leader." He snarled. "Be assured, I shall never underestimate you again."

_After untold eons of actively traveling multiple universes and influencing events, I can see Vector Prime's point. There is a certain amount of satisfaction to be gained from simply watching events unfold on their own without stealing a glimpse into the future._

Megatron's voice calmed slightly. "Now, I assume the one called Arcee will be stepping through that portal with a reloaded Matrix of Leadership in hand."

"We hold the Space Bridge at all costs!" Ratchet declared.

The Autobots charged their lasers and fired them. Megatron grunted in annoyance. There was a struggle that lasted no more than thirty seconds, metal slamming against metal violently, and then Megatron roared in triumph before being cut off by what sounded like a body slam from Bulkhead.

"You're going down, bucket-head." The Wrecker shouted.

Bulkhead was wrong. It was in fact he who was going down. From the sounds of it, Megatron managed to beat down the rest of the strike team a second time, too.

"Now… I wait." Megatron announced.

It couldn't end like this. They tried so hard, got so far…

_And in the end, it didn't even matter._

Unicron needed to shut up and help him, or Raf swore he would never even consider aiding the Chaos Bringer again. Earth had survived without him for billions of years, it would do fine now.

_You seek to bluff me?_

It wasn't a bluff.

_You are brave, Rafael. Perhaps the fate of the Primes should have been entrusted to you._

This wasn't a joke. Unless Optimus came back, Unicron would spend the next 80 years in this universal stream as the annoying voice in the back of his mind that was constantly ignored. Raf wasn't really stuck with Unicron. Unicron was stuck inside him.

_You underestimate me, Rafael._

Raf's eyes shut and he found himself floating in the vast purple void, turning around to see Unicron behind him, though this time he was the size of a human adult, instead of the colossus he was the first time they spoke like this. Unicron floated close to him, until their faces were inches apart. Raf found himself unable to move or look away.

"_I am CHAOS. I have been, am, and always will be. My power is Maximum. Your impudence is not in any way amusing to me. Had this world's destruction been my prime directive and not simply a byproduct of my awakening, know that you would have ceased to exist within hours, if not minutes. Do you feel powerful, child? I suppose it is an experience, having essence of this magnitude aiding you and unable to harm you." _

He stroked Rafael's cheek softly. The purple light surrounding them took on a darker red hue.

"_Let us assume for a moment that you were not bluffing. How long did you expect to live? Eighty years, you say? Eighty years is less than a blink. When this vessel perishes, I will simply find a new life form that has come into contact with Dark Energon and inhabit it, and work from there. Such a vessel will likely be far less sympathetic to the parasites that live upon my body than you are."_

Unicron twisted into the form of a snake and coiled around Raf's leg, torso, and up to his neck, and whispered even closer.

"_You think your choice is between life with me and life without me. That is incorrect. Your choices are life and death. I offer you life, and you would choose death. This is an opportunity that quintillions of life-forms across creation would have sacrificed themselves for, and you waste it when promised to you for free."_

He coiled even tighter.

"_You. Are. Not. Worthy."_

"I'm sorry…" Raf mumbled.

"_What?"_

"I said that I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I accept your terms."

The light faded into green, and Unicron appeared in his normal form a respectable distance from Raf in a blink.

"_Excellent."_

Unicron winked out and the light left with him, and Raf was alone with his closed eyes. He opened them again when he heard the voice of Agent Fowler.

"Base to Arcee, we're reading five Autobot life signals down there. Is Prime with you?"

"And Jack." Arcee responded.

Nurse Darby breathed a sigh of relief.

Raf entered the command to open up the Ground Bridge again. Jack walked in first, and took off his helmet. Arcee followed just behind him. June ran forward to hug her son.

Then Bumblebee came through, and Raf hugged the robot, needing some positivity right about then.

Bulkhead was next, greeted by Miko. Ratchet came after.

The teamed looked at the portal, and finally, Optimus Prime strode through.

"Optimus?" Raf asked, tentatively.

Optimus retracted his faceplate, and for once, smiled. "Hello, Rafael."

"The big guy remembers us!" Miko cheered.

Optimus frowned again and looked at his shoulder plate, which bore the symbol of the Decepticons. "Although, it seems there is much I do not remember."

"Optimus, it has truly been our Darkest Hour," Ratchet said, stepping forward and putting his hand on his leader's shoulder, "but know this: from every indication, your spark never ceased being that of an Autobot."

_It never does._

* * *

**In the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos:**

-How exactly did Cypher get in and out of the Matrix to talk to Agent Smith if there was nobody to call him?

-The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

-Zydrate comes in a little glass vial.

* * *

AN: Couldn't skip over these events, even if events outside of Raf's mind proceeded almost exactly as normal. I sometimes worry about improperly conveying characterization, so, by all means, tell me what you think of Unicron himself here. I love reviews and criticism.

Chapter 4 hits on Friday.


	4. Organ Trafficking

"_I get mixed up in a war, nearly stepped on, blasted, buried, and possibly zapped into space, and now, you've just made me an accomplice to INTERGALACTIC GRAND THEFT!"_

-Carmine Fanzone, Malgus Cluster

* * *

"And then I did a loop-de-loop around the walls of the Ground Bridge portal and snatched it right out of his hands!" Bumblebee buzzed excitedly, while waving Raf's toy around.

"A loop-de-loop, huh?" Arcee laughed, allowing the scout his gloat.

"Yeah, it was awesome." He beeped affirmatively, handing Rafael his toy back. "Megatron totally didn't see it coming."

"Heh, you have some brass bearings, Bee." Bulkhead chuckled, poking his teammate lightly in the chest.

"Optimus." Ratchet beckoned, and pointed at their newest acquisition, a purple and grey disk called the Spark Extractor, the function of which Raf did not feel the need to ask. "Here." He pointed to a spot on the bottom. "The source of the ancient frequency we detected."

"An Iacon Homing Beacon." Optimus muttered.

"What's an Autobot locator doing on that?" Arcee wondered.

"The Class-'A' Decepticon weapons confiscated during the war," Optimus explained, "were sealed in the vaults below Iacon."

"Where you once worked as an archivist?" Bulkhead asked.

"Iacon was both a cultural center and a stronghold, which Megatron raided when Autobot troops were at their nadir." Optimus frowned even more deeply. "It stands to reason that in anticipation of Iacon being overrun by enemy forces, these weapons were jettisoned off-world to keep them far from Decepticon reach."

"Clearly, the beacon was added as a safety measure, should the weapons ever be found by the undesired party." Ratchet deduced.

"Well, thanks to our hot-shot stunt driver, this one's going in our vault." Bulkhead patted 'Bee on the back again.

"Do you think this is the only intel you supplied to Megatron?" Arcee questioned.

"Arcee, you are right to ask, and I am afraid I…" Optimus looked down. "do not remember."

"Optimus. Megatron clearly took advantage of your amnesia, but for all we know this Spark Extractor is the extent of it." Ratchet assured.

_Quite optimistic for a shell-shocked field medic._

"Have you considered that he might have suggested otherwise, merely to plague your thoughts?" Ratchet continued.

Optimus didn't answer.

* * *

_How fascinating that of all the planets in the galaxy for Alpha Trion to blast off his precious relics to, he chose me. I should be honored._

This was serious. That Spark Extractor was frightening enough. Who knew what other Decepticon weapons of mass destruction were just waiting to be unearthed?

_I agree. It would be best for all involved if we ensured that Megatron did not lay his filthy hands on anymore relics. Do any of the nation-states on this planet have any idea of the power that could potentially lie beneath their feet?_

No. The US government knew about the Transformers, but they didn't really seem to know about the specifics of the war. All they knew was that the Autobots waged their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons.

_And other than your useless government, there are no humans that could even begin to challenge Megatron's army in battle._

No. That was it. The Autobots remained their only hope at the moment.

_You seriously do not see a problem with this. They cannot protect you forever._

Well they were protecting him now, and they weren't leaving anytime soon.

Bulkhead walked in with Bumblebee, who wouldn't meet his eyes. "Ratchet, we've got a bit of a problem."

* * *

"You can fix Bee, can't you?" Rafael asked as Ratchet scanned the 'Bot's abdomen.

"Bumblebee was hit pretty hard." Ratchet said. "The stun blasts may have fried his T-Cog."

"Is that like a T-Bone?" Miko asked.

_I do not believe this girl has managed to live this long without managing to choke on her own uvula from eating too quickly._

"Not exactly," Arcee replied patiently, "It's the organ that allows us to scan vehicles and transform."

There was a beep. "By the Allspark," Ratchet whispered. "Bumblebee's T-Cog isn't damaged. It's missing!"

"But the Decepticons transform, too." Jack noted. "Why would they steal that?"

Ratchet shook his head. "Megatron may be known to raise zombies, but he's no ghoul."

_I disagree, but continue._

"If Megatron wasn't behind this, then who was?" Raf asked.

"The ones who cannibalized Breakdown." Bulkhead said.

"And tried to gut me." Arcee added.

"MECH." Ratchet finished. "And it would appear their knowledge of Cybertronian biotech has grown more sophisticated."

_That sounds promising, indeed. _

"But why would they want Bumblebee's part?"

"It doesn't matter why they want it. What matters is that I'm getting it back." Bumblebee beeped.

"Bumblebee, no." Optimus cautioned. "You are not presently equipped to handle this."

"You wouldn't understand Optimus." Bumblebee tensed up. "You haven't lost a part of yourself like this."

"You are mistaken, my friend." Optimus placed his hands on Bee's shoulders and stared him in the eyes. "I do know what it's like to lose a vital part of oneself. And, as a result, I know the value of putting one's faith in the strength of those around you. We vow to do everything in our power to make you whole again."

"And if not, Ratchet can just make you a new… cog thing, right?" Miko asked.

"A new… ngraaaaah." Bumblebee moaned.

"What'd I say?"

"Miko, a T-Cog is a biomechanism, not a scrapyard find." Ratchet snapped. "If it were that easy, don't you think I would have replaced Bumblebee's voice box by now?"

"Talking was one thing, but not transforming? I'm useless." Bumblebee hummed.

_No comment._

"You're not useless, Bee." Raf assured him.

"Whatever…" Bumblebee groaned, looking down.

"Alright, alright, I say none of us transform until Bumblebee gets his cog back." Bulkhead suggested.

"Your spark's in the right place, Bulkhead." Arcee said, "But now's not the time to be limiting ourselves."

"Not with Megatron potentially seeking other doomsday devices." Optimus noted. "And, I fear, not while MECH uses Bumblebee's T-Cog for their own sinister purpose.

_I note that none of you know exactly what MECH's purpose is. If it is preparing to combat the extra-terrestrial death machines on their planet, then their concerns are well founded. Perhaps they can be convinced to focus their efforts elsewhere._

Oh, so the Autobots were a threat, but the organ thieves could be redeemed?

_Yes._

* * *

"For Primus' sake. Will someone keep him occupied so I can get some work done?!" Ratchet shouted.

Optimus and Bulkhead were out on a mission and Arcee was out riding with Jack, which meant that Bumblebee was stuck by in the base with Ratchet, Raf and Miko, and Bee was more than a little bit eager to check if Ratchet had any news. Every five seconds.

"How about a video game?" Raf suggested. Bee walked over and looked at the small TV screen to see… their racing game.

"Really, Raf?"

"Ooh, bad call." Miko whispered, quickly turning off the game.

"Sorry." Raf said.

"Hey, no big deal. That game's lame." Miko said dismissively, "What do you say we watch some TV?"

"The new Urbana 500." The announcer said over the commercial for a car that looked suspiciously like Bumblebee's vehicle form. "It won't just rock your will transform it."

"Nooooooooooo!" Bumblebee wailed, covering his ears.

"Taking the auto out of an Autobot is so not a good thing." Miko noted.

"Bee, come on." Ratchet assured, following him. "You're just as amazing without wheels. I mean, speed isn't everything."

_We both know that is a lie people tell so that they won't hurt their car's feelings._

Arcee and Jack raced in through the tunnel, doing a stoppie-spin right in the middle of the room.

"Personal best, Arcee." Jack cheered. "You hit 120 easy." And then Jack noticed Bumblebee looking down at them. "Oh."

"Uh-oh." Arcee agreed simultaneously.

_I do not think I could have made this sequence better if I tried._

"Nopenopenopenopenope." Bumblebee buzzed, and began storming towards the tunnel exit.

"Bumblebee! Where do you think you're going?" Ratchet demanded.

"What does it look like? A walk!"

"You can't just go for a walk." Ratchet chided. "We are robots in disguise."

_Do do do do dooooo._

"Leaving the base in this form puts you at risk of being seen and of us being discovered!" he continued, pushing Bee back inside. "You'll just have to remain in the silo until-"

"Let me guess," Bumblebee screeched, pushing Ratchet's hands off of him. "Until you can fix me, right, doc?" And he walked away deeper into the base.

"Yes, Bumblebee…" Ratchet muttered after he was gone. "Until I can fix you."

* * *

It was a Monday afternoon, and school had just let out. Raf was sitting alone on the steps, like he always was, waiting for his ride. Since Jack and Miko weren't around, that meant he got to talk with the voice in his head.

_The first step is locating their base, in any case. The next step is making sure you are not shot on sight._

That would put a bit of a damper on Unicron's plans. That and the fact that Raf was twelve and not well experienced when it came to ordering around militant techno-fascists.

_Is that what their philosophy is?_

It actually wasn't made very clear, to be honest.

_No matter. I have eternities of experience in making my will be done by my inferiors. Leave that part to me._

Uh huh.

An ambulance drove up to the school without a driver and honked for Raf. He stood up and Ran inside, closing Ratchet's door. "Thanks for the ride, friend of Jack's mom!" He shouted for the benefit of the kids outside. "Who's a nurse… at the hospital!"

_Smooth._

"Where are the others?" Ratchet asked as he drove away.

"Jack's at work. Miko's in detention again." Raf looked around the interior of the ambulance. "I was expecting Bulkhead."

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint, but he's on watch duty." Ratchet answered. Raf slouched further into the seat. "You want to ride with the siren on?"

_Say yes._

"No, thank you." Raf sighed.

They rode silently for a bit, and then Raf spoke again.

"Ratchet, do you think MECH is worse than the Decepticons?"

"In terms of who is more dangerous? The Decepticons are an infinitely greater threat to this planet and to the galaxy." Ratchet said. "But in terms of morality? They are just two sides of the same, power hungry coin. We are only lucky in that they are both too narrow minded and self-centered to consider allying with each other."

"So… What would you think if we tried to get them onto our side and fight the Decepticons?"

"It would be a horrendous idea. The US government would not want us to work with a terrorist organization, and after what they did to Bumblebee, Arcee, and Jack's family, nobody else would stand for it." Ratchet paused. "And Rafael, I think you've experienced all too well what happens when you put aside your principles and ally with evil for the sake of convenience. I certainly won't forget driving you to the hospital afterwards."

Raf nodded, and stared out the window.

* * *

"Of all the scrap-brained ideas… Taking Bumblebee into a potential chase scenario when he no longer has the ability to access his wheels?" Ratchet fumed at Bulkhead.

When they had arrived at base, Bumblebee was already laying on Ratchet's diagnostic bed. Bulkhead explained that Bumblebee had accompanied him on a mission to stop the Decepticons from retrieving a new artifact, and had given chase to knockout by riding on the back of a pickup truck as if it were a go-kart, which ended with him flying off of a cliff.

"He improvised." Bulkhead shrugged.

"Wow." Bumblebee buzzed, waking up. "That was almost kind of fun."

"You already lost your voice box and your T-Cog." Ratchet scolded. "Were you really trying to add your spark to the list?"

"Like I said before, useless."

"Look, I hate to break up the pity party." Arcee interrupted. "But the 'Cons just added unknown Iacon payday number two to their armory."

"Neither blame nor praise will modify past events," Optimus noted. "But we cannot afford to take further unnecessary risks. Bumblebee, you are not to leave our base. Not until we can retrieve your missing biomechanism."

Ratchet followed Optimus partially out of the room. And spoke such that the rest of the room could not hear them. Raf couldn't make out what they were saying, but Ratchet seemed to be trying to convince Optimus of something, but the Prime just shook his head sadly and placed his hands on the medic's shoulder.

Ratchet's voice picked up and Raf heard the last part of the conversation. "Do you really think this is simply about my inability to restore Bumblebee's voice box? I… I just want to do what's right for our scout and for the team."

The Medic came back and explained his plan. He was going to donate his T-Cog to Bumblebee.

"Obviously, since I am the other patient involved, I will not be able to perform the surgery." He said, pacing in front of them. "Therefore, one of you must serve as my proxy."

Ratchet looked at Bulkhead. "Mnh-mnh. Better at breaking things.

Bulkhead sighed in relief

"Arcee." Ratchet decided.

"Optimus has steadier hands." She protested.

"Steady." Ratchet agreed. "But much too large to be rooting around beneath my hood."

Arcee nodded and turned around to the humans.

_Help her._

What?

_I do not stutter._

"Arcee, if you want… I could help you with the surgery if you're nervous." Raf offered.

"Raf… I know you're smart, but are you qualified?" Jack questioned.

_Oh NOW Jack encourages caution._

"Jack, I know literally everything the Autobots do about Cybertronian biotechnology." Raf smiled. "And I've been taking apart and reassembling things since I was three."

"While I see your point, there is a bit of a scale issue involved, Rafael." Ratchet noted.

"Don't worry. I'm actually stronger than I look. And Arcee can help if I'm not."

Ratchet grinned, nodded, in approval, and lied down in the bed opposite Bumblebee, and hooked himself up to the diagnostic machine.

"Ok." Raf said, taking a deep breath in front of the computer. "Inducing stasis."

The machine jolted ratchet and his eyes dimmed.

"Ratchet…" Bumblebee beeped. "This means so much to-"

"Ah-ah ah." Ratchet moaned, groggily. "You can… thank me when… it's over." And he passed out.

"OK, Bee. Your turn." Raf hit the other button.

The computer beeped rapidly in alert. Bumblebee weakly tried to sit up straight again, but he succumbed to stasis.

"What's happening?!" Arcee shouted.

"They're flatlining!" Miko screamed, panicked.

"No he isn't!" Raf assured them, pointing to the larger main screen.

"It's an Iacon homing beacon." Optimus confirmed.

"If we're just picking up the signal, it means the 'Cons just unearthed another relic." Bulkhead said.

"Autobots! Prepare to Roll Out!"

"Yes!" Arcee cheered, relieved that she didn't have to help open up her teammate.

Optimus turned to Raf. "If you feel you cannot perform the surgery without help, it may be best to interrupt stasis.

_It is fine._

"Don't worry, Optimus, I've got this." Raf assured him.

Optimus nodded and led Arcee and Bulkhead through the Ground Bridge.

Raf turned back around and slung the giant energon torch over his shoulder. It was surprisingly light for him now. Literally thirty seconds after the team had left, Agent Fowler appeared on the intercom.

"Prime! Breaking news!"

Raf turned around and scooted over to the screen. "What now?" He asked, impatiently.

"Huh?" Fowler questioned, staring at the oversized tool he was holding. "Where's Prime?"

Raf looked at the Ground Bridge history. "Looks like… Nepal."

Fowler stroked his forehead. "Well, tell him when he gets back that I just received access to satellite imagery which I believe pinpoints the center of operations of MECH."

_This is it. This is our chance._

"OK, Agent Fowler. Send the coordinates. I'll be sure to get them to Optimus." Raf set down the cutter, which made a very large clanging sound. Fowler gave him a weird look and hung up.

"Raf, what are you doing?" Jack questioned as Raf began punching co-ordinates into the Ground Bridge controls.

"I can't explain, but I have to do this." He insisted.

"Raf, this is the kind of thing Miko would do." Jack protested. "Actually, it's even dumber! Miko would at least bring her giant robot partner with her before she went to a MECH base."

"Come on, Jack." Miko said, punching him in the shoulder. "Raf knows what he's doing! You went to space, Raf's going to a military base. Who knows where I'm going?"

_An asylum._

"We should at least wake up Ratchet and Bee first." Jack argued.

"No. There's still surgery to do." Raf said. "Just… cover for me if Optimus calls, and be ready to bridge me back, OK?"

"… Fine, Raf. I trust you."

That made one of them. Raf took a deep breath and walked through the Ground Bridge with his surgical implement.

* * *

It was a dark and stormy night...

Well, it was dark. He looked around at the empty base the portal had led him to. It was smaller than he had expected. MECH seemed like it could afford a better compound than this.

_No. It is bigger on the inside. Beneath your feet. Like ants. But your target is right over there._

Raf looked at the large warehouse in the center of the base, there was a faint blue glow coming from the door, and He slowly and quietly slipped through the door. He estimated at least a hundred armed MECH grunts were on the ground and in the rafters, watching the other side of the room. Standing against the wall was a partials completed, unarmored robot, hooked up to a myriad of cords wires, and tubes. Of particular note was the giant blue canister of energon leading up to it. And standing above them all… was Starscream.

"Initiate transfusion." Ordered the deep voice of Silas, who Raf could not see over the crowd. The scientist next to the robot entered commands on the giant screen next to the robot, and the Energon drained through a tube into the chassis of the partially completed robot. It's eyes glowed and it whirred with life, clenching its fists repeatedly. "It's working." Silas said, betraying just a little bit of excitement.

"Energon," Starscream declared, looking down at Silas, "it will do wonders for our future army."

Nobody spoke.

"Your future army." Starscream corrected himself, disappointed. "In fact, we are mere moments from beholding the miracle of transformation."

_Follow my lead. Let this happen._

Unicron's essence flooded his mind and his heart, pulsing through his veins with undiluted power. His clapped his hands slowly, drawing everybody's attention.

"_I had wondered what MECH was working on, and now I see that you are in fact the very model of human ingenuity."_ Raf's voice spoke without his thought.

The purple aura surrounding Raf was instantly covered in red dots as each of the MECH soldiers took aim at the intruder.

"_Would you really shoot an innocent child? Here I thought you were the good guys."_

The crowd parted slightly, still aiming at him, but clearing a path of sight to Silas, who stared at him confused from across the room.

"How on earth did we allow a little boy to make it this far into our base?"

"That is no ordinary little boy," Starscream pointed out, rotating his arms into blasters and aiming them both straight at Raf, "He is one of the Autobots' human companions, here in some foolish effort to reclaim his precious T-Cog."

"_That is correct. You have something that does not belong to you, and I am here to retrieve it, one way or another."_

"Oh really? And just how did you plan on doing that?"

"_By walking out of here with it, of course."_

"I see your mother never taught you any manners." Silas growled. "It's a shame she'll never be able to correct it."

"_Now, now. This is no way to treat a guest trying to negotiate."_

Silas smiled a little bit, and the guards relaxed slightly, still with their weapons ready. "Negotiate? And just what do you bring to the table?"

"_The same thing the Decepticon no doubt promised you. Insider knowledge."_

"Wh-what?" Starscream sputtered. "A mere human child could not possibly hold information more valuable than I do." His weapons charged up. "Let me obliterate this intruder and be done with it."

Silas looked up at the fearful Decepticon. "I think I want to hear what our little friend here has to offer."

"_I knew I did not misjudge you." _Raf walked forward confidently through the path, the grunts lowered their weapons as he passed until he was looking up at Silas. _"Teleportation. Super-luminal drives. Space folding, cloning, matter replicators, 'robotics' in its platonic form, space flight, plasma weaponry, cybernetics, and a transhuman mental connection with an Overmind which you could not even begin to comprehend. You hold already the secret to clean burning fuel. But it can be generated even more rapidly than you realize. There is also something called a 'Cortical Psychic Patch' which, unfortunately, lies beyond the reach of my intelligence gathering capabilities."_

"You would offer all of this technology to us?" The MECH Scientist asked, intrigued.

"_All at once? Do not be ridiculous. I offer you guidance to a new human future with all of these things and more."_

"And why should we believe that you have any of these things?" Silas asked, "Much less that you could give it to us?"

Raf pointed at the closest grunt. _"Give me your gun. Feel free to remove the ammunition."_

The trooper removed the magazine and handed it to Rafael. Raf examined the rifle and cycled the action. _"You forgot the round in the chamber, by the way."_ He stripped the rifle of its working components, and turned to the oversized energon cutter and began disassembling it. In a few minutes, he moved the power core and focus crystal into the receiver of the rifle, tied other component wires together, wrapping some of the other conducting cables around the inside of the barrel shroud, and re-assembled the rifle. It hummed and glowed with power. He gestured for Silas to move out of the way, and took aim at their prototype. The other grunts clamored to aim for him, but Raf quickly adjusted to the left… and blasted a hole the size of his fists straight through Starscream's wing, who howled in surprise and jumped back.

"_That."_ He handed the weapon to Silas. _"Is now the prototype for the first hand-held energon rifle ever to be used by human kind."_

Silas took the gun, inspected it, and handed it off to another grunt. He looked up at the Scientist and nodded his head. A robotic arm reached into the prototype robot, pulled out the T-Cog and set it down in front of Raf.

"_Thank you." _He said, and tucked it under his arm, and slung the cannibalized plasma blaster over his shoulder. He began walking back towards the door. _"There is considerably more where this came from if you cease your campaign against the Autobots."_

"Just the Autobots?" Starscream questioned.

"Just the Autobots." Silas confirmed, looking up at the grounded Sky Commander. He turned back to Raf. "But tell me, where are we supposed to get another T-Cog for our prototype now?"

Raf looked up at Starscream._ "Oh, I think you'll find a replacement if you know where to look."_

"What?!" Starscream shouted, looking around at the grunts that had surrounded him with their weapons drawn.

"I think you'll go far with MECH, kid." Silas smiled as Raf walked out the door. "We'll definitely keep in touch."

"_Jack. I require a Ground Bridge."_ Raf said into his earpiece as he walked out of the warehouse.

"Whoah, Raf, are you OK?" he asked. "You sound kind of different."

"_Just the reception. The portal, if you would."_

The Ground Bridge opened, but Raf didn't step through until he heard the crackle of electricity and Starscream's shriek.

Once he was on the other side, the aura vanished and Unicron receded back into his mind, and he dropped the T-Cog and the giant tool. He staggered a bit from the fatigue on his muscles.

"Whoah, Raf, are you OK?" Jack shouted, closing the bridge and rushing to help him in case he fell.

"I'm fine." Raf assured them, picking up the T-Cog and headed over to the operating table where Bee and Ratchet were still in stasis. "Come on, I have a friend to help. Miko, see about scrapping that old energon cutter."

"Wait, aren't you gonna tell us how you got the T-Cog back?" Miko asked, excitedly.

Raf made the first cut into Bumblebee and closed his eyes to see Unicron's smiling face. "There's nothing to tell. I just… asked nicely."

* * *

The other Autobots returned from their mission just in time to see Raf interrupt their stasis. From the looks on their faces, they failed in it.

Ratchet woke up first, obviously.

"How ya feeling, Ratchet?" Jack asked.

Ratchet flexed his fingers and moved his arms and legs experimentally. "Fine." He smiled at the tired Raf. "I feel as though… nothing's changed."

"I'd hope so…" Miko muttered.

"It only remains to be seen if Bumblebee's chassis will reject the T-Cog." Optimus stated.

Bumblebee woke up next, and stood up immediately. "Hmm." He buzzed curiously. "Well… I feel fine."

"Bumblebee, easy!" Ratchet said.

Bumblebee ignored him, and began flexing and rotating. "Actually, I feel great!"

"Please. Recovery takes time." Ratchet insisted.

Bumblebee stood up straight and stood back, stuck out his arms, and transformed. His engine roared with delight and he quickly did donuts around the center of the room amid the cheers of everybody else.

Bee parked in front of Raf and opened his door. "Where too, 'doctor'?"

Raf laughed. "Anywhere! Just… drive!" He rolled down the windows and looked to Ratchet as Bumblebee tore out. "Hey Ratchet, if you want to see something _really_ cool, try to transform!"

Ratchet stared at him with confusion as they departed. As the door to the tunnel closed behind him, he caught a glimpse of Ratchet surprising everyone by transforming in to an ambulance without difficulty.

_While we did supercharge an AK, today was still a good day._

* * *

**In the ** next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos:****

-I wanna arm-wrestle with cowboys on the moon.

-Slowly approaching bear.

-"This is now spark of our sparks and steel of our steel."

* * *

AN: The war has changed. Reviews, criticism, and commentary are welcome. Literally, I have the reviews open in a tab that i refresh every hour.

Chapter 5 will be released by Sunday, maybe earlier if I finish editing it.


	5. Genesis

"_No, sir. We are not alone."_

-Buzz Aldrin, Tyran Cluster

* * *

It was a Saturday and Raf was attempting to catch on all of the sleep he had missed out on for the past week when he got a call from an unknown number on his cell phone. He sighed and picked up. "Whoever this is, it's six AM and some people are trying to sleep."

It was Silas on the other end. "Cute. Are you aware that there are two giant robots in combat in a gas station 20 miles outside of Omaha that don't match any of our records?"

"And?" Raf groaned, begrudgingly sitting up and wiping his eyes. "Why are you calling me to tell me this? Actually, _how_ are you calling me to tell me this?"

"Are you serious? Rafael Jorge Gonzales Esquivel, you're friends with Jack Darby. We literally kidnapped his mom. It really wasn't that hard to put together who you were and access the records of your local phone company."

Rafael should have guessed that. "OK, fair enough. But that still doesn't answer why you're calling."

"Robots are fighting. One of them looks to be an Autobot, and while MECH would normally be happy to intervene, we still have a deal, and you haven't contacted us in a week and a half."

"Who's the Decepticon?"

"We don't know. I actually called hoping you could tell us. I'm sending a picture."

Raf's phone beeped when he received it and he looked at the screen. It looked like Skyquake, but… painted blue. And Skyquake was dead. Well, actually, he was undead, and trapped in another dimension.

_There is another Cybertronian infected with my blood on this planet? Why do I not sense him?_

Well, there was a Ground Bridge accident and it got trapped in a parallel dimensional plane they called the Shadowzone.

_We must recover it as soon as possible._

Really? Summoning inter-dimensional zombie robot jets? This was going to keep earth safe?

_Here you are, questioning me again._

Fine.

"OK, Silas. I don't know what it is. Have the Autobots shown up?"

"Negative. No, Wait. Now they have. They jumped in through some sort of wormhole. Fascinating… You mentioned you would tell us how to do that?"

_Yes, we did._

"I guess I did. How are the plasma rifles coming along?"

"Exceeding our every expectation. All MECH units should be equipped with them by the end of the month. Of course, in accordance with our arrangement, the Autobots have nothing to fear from them."

"Well that's good." Raf said, hopping out of bed and getting ready to start the day. "Ground Bridge technology is a bit ahead of the curve for you guys, and extremely power intensive, so until you get a handle on energon refining, I don't see any reason to-"

There was an explosion over the phone.

"Did something happen?" Raf asked.

"Yeah, looks like one of the Autobots accidentally ignited a gas station. Decepticon scanned an F-35 and is escaping."

"Same as Skyquake…"

"Who?"

"Later. What's happening now?"

"Looks like the Autobots are unharmed, and… now they're disappearing through the wormhole again. Interesting, matter crosses through it without disturbance, but not light. How does that work?"

"OK then. Um… I'll call you if I find anything." Raf hung up. Was Skyquake back from the Shadowzone? Did somebody open up a Ground Bridge rescue portal and let him stumble through? Was it just some kind of Skyquake clone from space?

_Find out next week._

* * *

Rafael was about to walk out of his door when he had a thought. What if MECH was watching him? If they saw him leave the house, they could track him to base whenever they wanted. They had promised not to attack, but… It wasn't worth the risk. He called the base.

"Yes, Rafael?" Ratchet answered.

"This is gonna sound really weird, but could you Ground Bridge me to base from my house?" Raf whispered into the receiver.

"Is something wrong, Rafael? Are you in danger?" Ratchet asked.

"Not quite but… Can you do it?"

Raf heard a *fwoosh* sound coming from his garage, and when he opened the door, he saw a Ground Bridge portal waiting for him. He grabbed his bag and walked through.

Emerging from the other side, he saw the Autobots gathered around Ratchet, who was doing a repair weld on another bot. Raf recognized him as Wheeljack. Bumblebee picked up Raf and placed him at his desk while he listened.

"I know of this Dreadwing." Optimus told the group. "He was captain of a Seeker armada, and, as such, like his twin, Skyquake, fiercely loyal to the Decepticon cause."

_Find his brother. _

"Optimus? Is he planning to somehow bring Skyquake back from the Shadowzone?" Raf asked.

"Unlikely. Even if he were aware of his brother's true fate, it is doubtful that he would have a means of locating the precise point at which he was lost to our dimension." Optimus shook his head. "Far more probable is that Dreadwing has traveled to Earth to pay allegiance to his one true master."

"Hope he's enjoying the visit. It's gonna be his last." Wheeljack declared.

"Wheeljack, this planet is heavily inhabited." Optimus said. "Any strike we make against the Decepticons must be carefully measured as a team, lest we risk endangering the human population."

_Because the human population cannot protect itself. Is that right, Prime?_

"Are you suggesting we sit back and do nothing?" Wheeljack questioned.

"You! Loose cannon!" Agent Fowler shouted as he walked out of the elevator. "Your cowboy antics almost blew our cover."

"Cover?"

"We're robots in disguise, Jackie." Bulkhead explained. "You needed an earth-based vehicle mode outside of here."

"That spaceship you shot down? Not Earth-based!" Fowler yelled. "I had to jump through some big hoops to get it hauled out of plain sight. You need to keep a tighter leash on your people, Prime."

"A tighter leash?" Wheeljack walked over and drew his head closer until they were lined up. "Let me clarify, tiny."

"Jackie…" Bulkhead started.

"I'm not one of Optimus Prime's 'people'." Wheeljack finished and stormed away.

"I'll talk to him," Bulkhead told Optimus, "with your permission."

"Of course." Optimus nodded.

"So, the new guy has a little problem with authority." Fowler whispered.

"Wheeljack and Bulkhead served together in the Wreckers," Optimus clarified, "a combat unit that operated outside the normal chain of command."

"Hmm. Black ops."

"They accepted missions no one else would, and many of them did not come back."

Rafael turned to Optimus again. "How did you get us out of the Shadowzone when we were there the first time?"

"After determining the location of origin of your distress message, Ratchet opened a rescue portal at that location." Optimus thought back. "Bulkhead wanted to transport you directly to base, but Ratchet did not wish to attempt transport in five dimensions when four was difficult enough."

"So Skyquake can't come back?"

"You would need to ask Ratchet, but I would say that retrieving the other Seeker twin would be far beyond the scope of the Decepticons unless they had access to our Ground Bridge ledger and a means of detecting Dark Energon at range." Optimus nodded. "Do not worry, Rafael, in this regard, we are safe."

_How convenient. Contact MECH and tell them to have a team on location. We are going to retrieve that Terrorcon._

Wouldn't the Terrorcon kill the retrieval squad?

_If it does, then MECH is not the elite force I believed that they were._

Raf sighed. Unicron better have known what he was doing.

_That is beyond question._

And just how was Raf supposed to activate the Ground Bridge without Ratchet asking what he was doing?

_Just lie. It is not difficult. Play it cool, as they say._

Raf took a deep breath and slid over to the Ground Bridge controls. This was stupid and dangerous on so many levels. He plugged his laptop in and pulled up the Ground Bridge activity log. Even with Unicron-reading, it took him a few minutes to go back far enough to find it. It actually stood out among the rest, once he found it, because the destination and origin points were both the same. He had to hand it to Ratchet, getting a Ground Bridge portal to feed off of itself to simulate the original accident that transported them to the Shadowzone in the first place was pretty clever.

He had to contact MECH somehow for pickup. The location itself was actually pretty close to their location. He could probably make it there himself by car, if he could find a ride. He pulled out his phone and sent a text message to Silas.

Send retrieval team to attached co-ordinates. Target extremely hostile and scary. Cannot emphasize danger of interdimensional zombie robot jet enough. Cannot promise timeframe, but be prepared.

Raf closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Rafael. Do not worry." Optimus said over his shoulder. Raf didn't even realize the robot was still there. "I know the sight of Skyquake could be considered traumatic. Know that we will always be here to protect you from the Decepticon threat. I promise it."

Raf gulped and nodded.

A half hour later, the main screen beeped, nearly making Raf jump out of his seat. Ratchet looked up at it.

"Bulkhead's signal, over a thousand miles from here." The medic pointed at the map. "And I would have to imagine that Wheeljack is with him."

"Have you attempted contract?" Optimus asked.

"No response."

Optimus just sighed in disappointment. Ratchet punched in the Ground Bridge coordinates and he stepped through.

A few minutes later, Raf got a text back from Silas.

Arrived on site, against my better judgement. No sign of zombies, robots, other dimensions, or any other combination thereof.

"Optimus, Bulkhead's signal has moved from your current position." Ratchet said.

Raf waited for the Ground Bridge to open, but it looked like Optimus was taking Wheeljack's Jackhammer. Raf looked down and saw that he had received another text from Silas.

Disregard previous text. Have made contact with extremely hostile, scary, giant zombie robot hand. Neutralized and restrained, with no injury. Plasma rifles extremely effective.

Of course, Skyquake's hand! He'd managed to leave it in the real world when he got sucked into the Shadowzone. It would probably make pretty good bait too. Raf looked up and saw that Ratchet had walked away from the Ground Bridge controls. Seizing the moment, he found the rescue portal command from the log and re-entered it. He activated the Ground Bridge, and the machine hummed and surged. The lights dimmed for a moment. He wondered how long it would take for Skyquake to sense his arm and go through the portal. MECH could probably handle it. If not, well…

_Do not think about that. Your fear is not strengthening you._

"Rafael? Is something wrong with the Ground Bridge?" Ratchet shouted form the next room over.

Scrap. Rafael hurried to deactivate the portal. Ratchet walked in and looked at the machine and inspected it.

"It is unusually warm. Did you see what happened, Rafael?" Ratchet asked.

"Uh… no." Raf said, not taking his eyes from his laptop.

"Too much to expect, I suppose." Ratchet scoffed. "I'll check the diagnostic log, then."

Double scrap. Rafael scrambled to find the log on his laptop as Ratchet slowly walked to the main console. Raf found the most recent trip and hit the delete button, and a progress bar appeared to remove the file.

Ratchet opened up the log on his end, and the log began to load from the beginning. Raf looked down at his laptop, crossing his fingers. Just as Ratchet's log finished loading, the entry finished deleting.

"Hmm." The doctor stroked his chin. "Probably just a power surge somewhere else then. Human materials, never again."

Raf breathed a sigh of relief, and got yet another text from Silas.

More warning would be appreciated next time. Decepticon came through the portal howling like a mad beast and attempted to retrieve missing arm. Nearly lost half of strike team attempting to neutralize it. Shocking into stasis periodically, barely restrained. Neither willing nor able to this thing back to base. Sending a pickup team to your house. Yes, we know where you live.

_Good._

Unicron had a strange definition of good.

_I will not dignify that with a response._

"Hey Ratchet, can you bridge me home?" Raf asked.

"Are you sure? You have only been here for two hours."

"Sorry, Ratchet. I'm just… bored."

Ratchet guffawed and re-opened the portal to Raf's garage, gesturing to the exit.

_I think you hurt his feelings._

Raf didn't see why, considering he had helped perform lifesaving surgery a week ago. He grabbed his stuff and walked through.

Once the portal closed behind him in his garage, he took a minute to compose himself. What was he getting himself into? Lying to his alien robot friends and helping terrorists because the voice in his head said so?

He heard a knock at the front door. He stood on his toes and peeked out the hole. A MECH trooper in standard black, face concealing uniform was standing impatiently at the door. Raf held his breath and opened it, looking up at him.

"Nice place you got here, kid." The commando mused in the same muffled voice everyone in his organization spoke with. "Get in the car. Silas is waiting." He pointed at a green- no, chartreuse- Corvette parked on the curb. Raf followed him to the car and sat inside. The man drove without a word.

"So…" Raf said, trying to defuse the tension. "What's your name?"

"That's classified." He responded after a time. "Call me MECH-7."

"OK then. Where are we going, Seven? Back to your base?"

"Not this time, kid. We're going to the Mobile Outpost for Robotic Organism Neutralization."

Rafael blinked. "Really?"

"Yes." Seven muttered. "We all try not to think about it."

"Why does Silas want me there?"

"You tell me. We assumed it was for Project Chimaera, but given the nature of the specimen, it doesn't quite suit our needs."

"Project Chimaera?" Raf asked.

Seven slapped his forehead. "Forget I said that. We're here."

They pulled up to a MECH commando standing at the road who gestured for the car to stop. His driver rolled down the window. "MECH-7 reporting. I've retrieved the child."

The guard nodded and waved them through. Seven drove into a familiar looking canyon, where dozens of MECH troopers and engineers were patrolling and eying Raf with what he could only assume was suspicion. Several were injured and on stretchers, and Raf stepped out of the car and followed Seven to the other end of the outpost. Restrained to a large slab of steel was Skyquake.

The Terrorcon was in bad shape. His burned, twisted body was now riddled with tiny holes that leaked dark energon onto the table, which MECH was collecting with jars on the bottom. Raf saw that he was missing an eyeball and a chunk of his right side was missing. His unrestrained right stump flailed uselessly at the restraints, in a vain attempt to join his right forearm, which was bolted to another table. One of his eyes was missing too. When it leaned over and saw Raf, it became enraged again, pounding at the steel even harder and thrashing about. His remaining purple eye glowed brightly and Raf felt a slight headache.

_Obey._

Skyquake tensed, and continued to struggle, but his eyes lost their glow and the headache receded.

"Pretty good catch." Silas said, behind him. Raf turned around and saw that his forehead was bandaged and he was drinking from a water bottle. "But a bit more feral than the kinds of Cybertronians that we're used to. What happened to him?"

The MECH Scientist stepped forward. "It appears that he is powered by corrupted form of energon. The energy signature is similar enough." He held up a jar of it. "Whatever it is, it seems to hold some reparative abilities. Observe his wounds."

Raf and Silas looked, and saw that the holes were slowly but surely closing themselves back up.

"The effects on earth technology are… interesting too." He continued. "One of the lab techs accidentally spilled some on the spectrometer, and it grew teeth and tried to bite his fingers."

"Dark Energon does that kind of thing." Raf noted. "You should try not to touch it with your bare hands."

"We're not exactly amateurs, kid." The scientist responded, "But that does remind me. This specimen is far too hostile to be effectively studied or controlled. I recommend we scrap it for any usable parts that it has, if possible."

_No. Scrap that pathetic drone they were working on and use that to repair our friend here. You and I will control him. My blood flows through his veins as it does through yours._

"No." Rafael said. "Do the opposite. Use the parts from the robot you were working on before, and rebuild Skyquake."

Silas stroked his chin thoughtfully. "That would speed up our progress in terms of making working systems."

"Sir, with all due respect, that is a terrible idea." The Scientist argued. "This_ thing_ is a monster. There's no way we'll be able to keep it co-operative enough to work on, much less follow commands. There's no way we'll be able to even stop it from tearing up our base and killing us all as soon as it wakes up."

_Bend it to our will, Rafael._

"I can control him." Raf blurted out. Silas and the technician looked down at him.

"Really, now?" Silas asked. He snapped for the Scientist to observe. "A demonstration, then?"

Raf approached Skyquake's massive hand, which was restrained with steel cable. Everyone else seemed to by avoiding getting to close to it. The hand was easily the size of a small bear. He reached out and touched it. Unicron was right, dark energon flowed through its veins.

_Rise._

The hand tensed, flexed, and curled into a fist. It pushed up with its fingers against its bindings.

"Can you release it?" Raf asked the small crowd forming behind him.

The Scientist tossed him a bolt cutter, and the other grunts readied their weapons on the hand and Raf. Raf took the cutters and cleaved through the cables. The hand immediately hopped up and landed next to Raf, skittering about on its fingers.

_Serve._

The hand "stood" in front of him and flexed its fingers in what Raf realized was meant to be a bowing gesture. Raf reached out and pet the hand, and, like a dog, it stood up on its thumb and pinky and hopped around excitedly. Silas took the sight in stride.

"See?" he said. "There's nothing to worry about. Our young lamb will protect us from Polyphemus."

The Scientist sighed and pulled up his radio. "Requesting extraction chopper. All units, pack up and return to base."

The camp bustled with renewed activity as the MECH grunts finished loading the wounded into their trucks and started their engines. Two helicopters flew overhead, one landed next to them, and the other dropped a set of steel cables. Four troopers rushed forward from their truck to secure them to the corners of the slab, and returned to their vehicle, while the Scientist took a seat in the landed chopper. Raf turned around to go to Seven's car, but Silas grabbed him by the shirt.

"Going home so soon? No, ride with us. I insist." He gestured to the helicopter. "After all, if something happens with our new acquisition, I want you to be the first to see it."

Raf nodded fearfully and looked at Skyquake. He took a seat in the back of the chopper with the scientist while Silas sat in front. He looked out the window and saw the hand hop onto the slab and grab onto Skyquake's leg.

"So, Esquivel, I hear you're the hacker whose laptop I fried when we were trying to get the Dynamic Nuclear Generation System." The pilot said, "Sorry about that, I guess."

"Don't worry about it." Raf said nervously, appreciating the conversation nonetheless. "I had it fixed in hours."

Silas cleared his throat loudly, and the pilot returned to focusing on flying the vehicle.

Raf decided to take a chance at something. "So, Silas?" He asked. "This was never made quite clear, but… what exactly is MECH's long term goal?"

"It's like I told Agent Fowler. There is a war brewing between the new world order and the newest, and we aim to have the greatest technological advantage when that time comes." Silas replied.

"That doesn't really answer the question. What exactly does the newest world order want?"

Silas sighed. "You're young, but you seem pretty bright, so do try to keep up. Have you heard of a man by the name of Francis Fukuyama?" Raf shook his head. "Not surprising, he's not the kind of person whose writings you'd find in a high school library or anything like that. In 1989, with the fall of the Soviet Union, an entity which I am assuming you have read about by now, Fukuyama wrote about what he called '_The End of History_'. He argued that with the fall of the Soviet Union, democracy and market capitalism had effectively 'won' the war for sociocultural dominance over mankind. Consider the world you live in, Rafael. To a great extent, disregarding specific partisan squabbles over the ideals of federalism, social control, and economic policy, how often do you hear anybody argue against the underlying democratic structure itself? Even when you look at other countries with histories dating back thousands of years, do you not find that those with forms of government that are monarchic, despotic, or otherwise undemocratic are universally described as simply being 'backwards' or 'inferior'?"

Raf thought back and had to agree.

"Politicians around the world had been calling the new monopolar world in which the US asserted primacy as the sole superpower as the beginning of what was called the 'new world order'. In this world, the US and the other great powers, including Russia, would use agencies like the United Nations to enforce hegemony over the other nations of the world in a way that was less overtly hostile than two nations pointing nuclear missiles at each other. Now dominance would be enforced through trade sanctions or 'humanitarian intervention'. Global peace would be maintained through endless wars far away from everybody's notice."

"But if the only wars around are to bring democracy to dictatorships, isn't that at the very least an improvement from before?"

"No it isn't. It's _stagnating_. The world is homogenizing, Rafael. When other countries step out of line, for better or for worse, the rest of the world squashes them down. When you have to send soldiers to die against an enemy with tangible motivations, people ask uncomfortable questions. That is why we send soldiers to die in the middle of the desert to fight unseen enemies who live in caves and want to take humanity back to the Iron Age. Politics isn't even _real_ anymore. It is just a bunch of bureaucrats and career politicians trapped in endless debate with each other trying to line their own politics or enforce their own quasi-socialist agenda. Presidential elections are just shows put on for our benefit, where two identical candidates are offered to us and they pretend to be different from each other long enough for us to decide which one we want to maintain the status quo for a few more years. Our culture is reflecting this, where everybody wants to change within the system, but the system is the thing that changes them. That is why you don't even see communists in the west anymore. Now you see 'Social Democrats'. 'Civilized' people don't fight. 'Civilized' people keep their mouths shut and go with the flow until it's time to vote. That is the new world order, and unless we act, it's here to stay."

"That makes sense, I guess… but that doesn't really answer my question. What does MECH want?"

"We want a newer world order. We want change. We want history to continue. Today, people romanticize the idea of a technologically advanced future that will never come. As it is now, the world's technological output is dedicated to the creation of flying robot assassins, which have now become obsolete, and overpriced cell phones that people line up for every year. Consumer-driven innovation will never take us further. We have barely scratched the surface of human potential, and MECH will lead the world down the path of resistance, not simply what is easy. In a liberal democracy, people will naturally vote against change, against hardship, against difficulty. They will vote to keep their heads in their sand and the 'free market' will provide people with the precious peace they so desire. I founded MECH because I think we can do better than that. Under our guidance, the world will be real again. People will do things that matter. Peace will give way to progress, laziness will give way to improvement, thesis will give way to antithesis and eventually synthesize into something fantastic. I don't know where that will lead. Maybe humanity will roam the stars. Maybe we will all unify with machines in a trans humanist techno-organic paradise. Maybe the earth will be destroyed. Maybe there is no endgame at all. I don't know. I probably won't be around to see it, and maybe MECH won't be around to see it either. It won't be utopia, but whatever happens, we are going to be the catalyst for a future so bright you'll have to wear shades."

"Sir. We're here." The navigator said, almost reluctant to interrupt his commander's monologue.

"Think on that, Rafael Esquivel." Silas finished. "While you still have the luxury."

The helicopter landed on the roof of the building adjacent to the main warehouse. The barracks most likely. On the ground below, the base was scrambling to prepare for the troopers that would be arriving by car, while others helped the other chopper lower Skyquake onto into the main square, onto a set of tracks that led into the main lab.

The grunts backed up in fear when Skyquake's hand hopped off of the bed and bolted past them, waiting at the foot of the stairs to the helipad as Raf descended with Silas and the MECH technician. When they came face to fingers with it, the hand made a series of clicking sounds that Raf couldn't understand. They reminded him of Bumblebee's voice, but it was just gibberish. The hand extended its pointer finger outwards and poked Raf in the stomach lightly, or what passed for lightly for it. It kind of tickled, actually.

Silas pinched the bridge of his nose and kept walking, and Raf, the scientist, and the hand followed him into the main lab where Skyquake was restrained on the operating bed underneath a set of large robotic arms with drills, saws, and other tools at the end. The zombiecon was drooling dark energon and weakly tugging at his restraints. About a dozen MECH Techs were surrounding it, clearly eager to open up their new prize. Silas led Raf up to the main computer platform, where the MECH scientist sat down at the console. He down at them and cleared his throat loudly.

"Gentlemen, thanks to our new ally among the Autobot ranks, we have secured a new brand of Decepticon more hostile than any we have seen before. Yes, that includes our brief collaboration with Airachnid." The scientists looked at each other, and a few of them took a precautionary step back. "And with his advisement, we are going to scrap Project Chimaera and devote the resources towards repairing it in our image. And don't worry, this one is literally mindless, in case any of you had any ethical concerns."

The technicians laughed and activated their tools. They went to work opening Skyquake up and taking diagnosing the damage while the large screen filled with diagnostic data. In minutes, the Terrorcon was stripped of his armor and his innards were laid bare. Raf gasped at the sight of his chest cavity. Skyquake had a dark energon shard inside him, just like Megatron did. This one was a fair bit smaller, about the size of Raf's arm, though, and the glow was fading.

_The dark energon that replaces the spark of a Terrorcon consumes normal energon and converts it into more dark energon in order to sustain the body. Skyquake, it seems, was ready to starve to death before he was reclaimed. Still, he won't be needing it for now. Retrieve it for me._

Raf hopped off of the platform and fell twenty feet to the floor before landing on his feet. He didn't know why he did it, but it felt like the fastest way to descend. Pushing his way past the working technicians, he climbed up Skyquake's chest and reached in to grab the dark energon. As soon as he closed his fingers around it, energy surged through his body like a bolt of lightning. He pulled at it with all of his might and nearly fell off when he finally had it clear. The shard pulsed in his hands in time with his own accelerated heard rate. He jumped down with the shard and held it up to the light and stared at it as he walked back up the stairs, admiring its facets.

"And just what exactly is that?" Silas asked.

"_This, Silas, is pure power."_

The sun was almost down by the time MECH had finished transferring parts form their prototype to Skyquake's stripped corpse. Most of their parts were surprisingly well built, and Raf couldn't always tell which parts were "real" by the time they finished. Even the severed hand was scrapped. They had not re-attached much of his original armor, instead sorting the pieces and taking it to another section of the lab, so it resembled more of an oversized protoform mold, but Raf could still see the remnants of its old form.

"Alright, sir. Base mold complete." The scientist announced. "Ready to install template."

Raf turned around to see what they would make Skyquake look like…

And saw the face of Optimus Prime staring back at him.

_No._

"No."

"_No."_ Raf ordered. _"Unacceptable. This masterpiece of biomechanics will not be modeled after Optimus Prime."_

"And why not?" Silas demanded. "Optimus is clearly the most powerful template we could work with, since we've never actually seen Megatron in person to scan him, it is only logical that we choose the best."

"_No!"_ Raf repeated again. _"If you desire powerful troops to command, I will provide you with a new body for Skyquake. One, I note, that will have the ability to fly."_

"We're waiting." Silas shrugged.

Raf shoved the MECH scientist out of the way of the computer as his fingers were consumed by purple flame. His hands danced across the keyboard, making altering blueprints faster than he could actually look at them. Schematics were optimized and superfluous structures removed. When Unicron finished, Raf looked at the finished result of the Chaos Bringer's imagination. Standing on the screen was the third most evil looking robot Rafael had ever seen. It had large, bat-like wings, clawed hands, and a moustache-beard combo that actually put Unicron's to shame. All it needed was horns. It didn't even look Cybertronian. The aesthetic was completely different, more human-like, in its own way.

Silas inspected the design and smiled. "Do it."

The scientist entered a few keystrokes and the engineers backed away to a safe distance while the gigantic surgical machines began lifting and attaching a series of shiny silver parts that the troopers were wheeling in, based on Unicron's designs. New parts arrived every few minutes to be welded onto the protoform.

"Waste not, want not." Silas said smugly.

* * *

The sun was completely down when the robot was finally finished. The machines had concluded their work by painting their robot to have a grey and blue color scheme, with red highlights on the tips of its claws. It lay lifeless on the slab which slowly began to rotate 90 degrees to put it in a standing position.

"Ready for diagnostic test, on your signal." The scientist announced. Troopers from around the base had gathered around to see their finished project, which stared back at them with empty yellow eyes.

"Ready to see what can be accomplished when you put your mind to it, Rafael?" Silas asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Raf nodded, and Silas turned to the scientist. "Whatever happens, it's still amazing that we got this far. Activate it."

The scientist nodded and pulled a lever. Bright blue energon began to flow from the tank into the robot formerly known as Skyquake's still open chest cavity, and its eyes began to glow while the machinery hummed. A low rumbling noise emanated from the robot's head.

"It's happening!" Silas shouted as the noise got louder and air and debris began blowing away from it. It reached a crescendo and finally stopped. "Begin full motion testing." The Scientist began to enter commands into the computer.

Nothing happened. Its eyes glowed as if it lived, and Raf could see the yellow outlines of energon flowing through the veins MECH constructed, yet it did not move.

"Damnit. Remove the energon pump!" Silas ordered. "We must be missing something. Some critical piece. But what?"

_The dark energon. It needs my blood._

Raf nodded and grabbed the shard of dark energon and walked to the edge of the platform in front of the robot's chest. He looked out at the crowd that was watching him expectantly. He shrugged, and pushed the entire crystal into the empty spark chamber.

The reaction was instant. The chest cavity swung closed, nearly smacking Raf into it, and the sounds of pistons could be heard as every joint flexed before it stepped forward off of the table and stood completely still, and turned its head down to regard Raf, Silas, and the MECH scientist. On its chest was a symbol Raf didn't recognize. It was a blue "M" surrounded by a diamond.

"This thing will be the scourge of our enemies!" Silas declared. "Walk it outside the building, let's give it some room to… stretch." The scientist entered more commands, and the robot began to walk forward. Silas looked at the partially closed main doors. "Wait! Somebody get the door before it smashes through."

That proved unnecessary as the robot pushed the door open and pulled in its wings, allowing it to walk through without bumping into anything.

"Looks like the path finding subroutines were better than we thought." The Scientist muttered. "Testing combat abilities."

With barely a sound, the robot began to practice a series of kicks, claws, and punches, striking the air in all directions. It pantomimed a bear hug, pushed itself nearly a thousand feet into the air, where it was barely visible in the night sky, and rotated upside down and began spinning rapidly on its way down.

"Everybody get back!" Silas shouted, and turned to the Scientist. "Why did you make it test that?"

"I didn't." he said back. "I just activated flight!"

The robot approached the ground and stuck out his hands in front of him and as soon as it touched the ground, it tensed up and pushed itself back up, expanded its wings to full spread, and landed on its feet. The ground barely shook from the maneuver.

"Well, all tests so far point to a resounding success sir." The scientist said to Silas. "We just need to scan an alternate form and it should be ready to be sent on a full test run."

"I have the perfect one in mind." He turned to Raf. "You've become part of something incredible today, Rafael. Humanity is in your debt."

Seven stepped forward. "Sir, we should probably take him home. His family is probably questioning his location."

Raf smacked his head. He had completely forgotten about that.

"Right, children out this late on a Saturday night are rarely up to anything good." Silas joked. "Give him a ride, and help him with an excuse."

Seven gestured to his car and Raf followed him inside it. They sped off immediately as Raf looked back at the silhouette of MECH's creation crouching down onto its knees while they covered it with some kind of shimmering material, probably to prevent satellite imagery. As the base disappeared from view, he felt a weak pulse of energy and a thought from nowhere.

_Scourge._

* * *

**In the next exciting chapter of A World Forged from Chaos:**

-Bizarro am number one!

-Elia Martell! Say her name!

-Begun, the drone wars have.

* * *

AN: Next chapter drops... Friday, maybe Thursday. Blah blah reviews, blah blah comments.


	6. Test Run

_"What do you think being human means? That's what we do. We make mistakes. Sometimes, out of those mistakes come the most amazing things…"_

-Cade Yeager, Tyran Cluster

* * *

When Raf left school the next Friday, he was surprised to see that Bumblebee wasn't there to pick him up. Instead, Seven's car was idling in front of the building. At least, he assumed it was Seven, they all looked the same to him. Raf tapped on the window and the MECH grunt rolled the windows down.

"Seven?"

"About time, Esquivel. Get in, Silas has something to show you. He seemed pretty excited about it." Seven scratched his chin. "Which is pretty unusual, because I've never really seen Silas excited about anything before a few weeks ago."

"Wait, do you have any idea how weird it is for you to be just… parked in front of my school like this?" Raf asked.

"What, you mean men dressed in black with masks on and guns in the trunk don't usually spend three hours in front of high schools to pick up twelve year olds?"

"Twelve and a quarter." Raf corrected, and blinked. "Wait, you have guns in the trunk?!"

"Say it a little louder, kid, I don't think people heard you. And no, actually I have a plasma blaster in the trunk now, thanks."

Raf put his face in his palm and got in the car.

"So how'd your mother react when I dropped you off at 23:30 last week?" Seven asked once they hit the main road out of town.

"She was actually surprisingly calm about it. I told her that I fell asleep in the library and my phone died, so the security guard was nice enough to give me a ride home."

"And she believed you?"

"Maybe being a terrorist has altered your perception a bit, but not everybody assumes that other people are lying to them, especially if that person is their son."

Seven shrugged. "But you were actually lying." He pointed out.

"Yeah…" Raf muttered, "I guess I was."

"Hey, don't feel so bad about it, kid. I doubt you've been telling her about the giant robots you spend your afternoons with."

"You mean the school computer club?" Raf smiled.

"Exactly, the computer club. Where does this computer club meet, by the way?"

"In the…" Raf narrowed his eyes. "Not telling you that."

"Can't blame a spy for trying."

A half hour's drive later, the car pulled up to the gate to the MECH base, which had considerably beefed up security since last time. Raf saw way once they were waved through into the main hangar. Being inspected by technicians and overseen by the MECH Scientist was a B-2 stealth bomber.

"Ah, Rafael!" Silas announced as Raf marveled at the sight. "A fitting form for our hunter of the night, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah!" Raf shouted, his excitedness getting the best of him. "I never thought I'd see one of these in real life! Is this the real thing, or did you scan the form already? How did you even get your hands on one? Did you steal a bomber from a base and bring it back? Did you just walk the robot into an airfield without anybody noticing? Does it fly? Can I fly in it?"

"This is our robot, yes. I am not at liberty to answer any of those other questions. Well, maybe that last one. No."

Raf groaned and walked up the steps to the main platform.

_I feel inclined to commend you, Rafael, for this job well done. On this day, a new age will begin._

"So, have you tested it yet?" Raf asked.

"No. That is what we are doing today, once we find a way to relocate it."

"Relocate it, why?"

"Because as stealthy as our prototype is, it is very notable, to humans, Autobots, and Decepticons alike." Silas looked down at Raf. "And our original test-run plan didn't much fit with MECH's new… alignment."

Raf was about to question the plan when Silas's radio buzzed.

"MECH-1 to Silas." The voice buzzed. "Our maneuvers have yielded unexpected results… and a familiar face."

_How pleasantly ominous and vague._

Silas turned to the Scientist. "Isn't MECH-1 in Colombia?"

"According to his signal, he's investigating an unconfirmed energon spike." The Scientist confirmed. "Should I send retrieval choppers?"

"To South America?" Silas questioned. "Well… MECH-1 wouldn't waste our time. Send the team. But…" He looked at the prototype. "This _would_ be the perfect time to test out our creation's tracking abilities…"

* * *

Three hours later, Silas, Raf, the Scientist, and no less than a hundred MECH Commandos had relocated several miles east to an abandoned military installation. If Raf had to guess, they were probably on the border with Colorado.

Silas was sitting in an incredibly faithful recreation of an airplane cockpit, surrounded by screens that offered him a 180 degree view from the perspective of the B-2 in flight. The MECH Scientist and a few technicians had hovered around the machine, making final inspections before Silas could begin.

Rafael, for his part, was given a stool to sit next to Silas and watch. It was not particularly comfortable, and the MECH Scientist suggested that there would be another crew seat next time just for him. It was the first time he'd heard anybody in MECH laugh.

Once he was given the all-clear, Silas flipped switches to power the engines and soon the bomber had taken flight from the MECH base. Once it took off, Silas pushed the throttle until the bomber reached a speed of Mach 2 bearing South towards MECH-1's last broadcast. Everyone was for the most part silent for the two hour flight aside from the occasional status update.

"ETA is fifteen minutes for the prototype, energon engine is operating at 72% efficiency." The MECH Scientist reported. "Chopper fleet estimates two days until arrival, MECH-1 has readied cargo for pickup."

"Excellent. Decreasing altitude…" Silas announced. "and preparing for mid-air transformation."

The technicians stood by, and some of the guards even crowded around the screen. Silas lifted the lid over the big red button on the control console, took a breath, and pushed the button.

The drone reacted instantly, flipping in mid-air and slowing its horizontal velocity to almost nothing in seconds. The pressure readouts jumped into the red and the diagnostic scanner showed large amounts of stress on every joint of the drone as it shifted its mass into a robot mode, The sound of transformation could be heard, albeit more strained and… off, really.

It had been almost two full seconds and the drone was already beginning to drop. The transformation completed when two clawed hands stretched into view. The technicians clapped at the success, but the excitement died down when the accelerometer showed a marked increase in downward velocity.

The drone was freefalling. Twenty thousand feet.

The technicians began to panic and shout conflicting instructions at Silas, who was scrambling with the controls. Each attempted input did not yield a response for almost four seconds. It was hard to control a complex drone in real time from three thousand miles away.

The drone flailed its arms wildly in response to Silas's instructions and looked down to stare at the rapidly approaching forest. Ten thousand feet.

Silas stopped to think, and activated the drogue parachutes of the vehicle form. No response. Five thousand feet.

The MECH Scientist smacked his forehead with his clipboard and pulled out his radio. "MECH-1, this is base, you may have another unit for pickup."

_Oh ye of little faith._

A loud pop echoed through the control chamber. Without any stimulus, the drone twisted itself around into a belly flop position. Its wings unfurled to maximum spread. Three thousand feet.

The altimeter slowed down considerably, and again the diagnostic scanner showed large amounts of stress on the wings. Two thousand feet.

The drone reoriented itself into a vertical position, still using its wings for drag. One thousand feet. It had slowed down considerably now, but it was still going in hot.

The technicians winced as their prototype fell through the canopy layer, smashing branches on the way down and no doubt ruining the paint job. At the last second, it gave its wings one giant flap, and crouched its legs to cushion the impact.

Everybody stared at the screen, mouth agape. Or that's what Raf figured anyway, masks and all. The view refocused and the dust cleared, and the technicians rushed to check on the drone's vitals. Everything looked good when a new voice came through, deep and gravelly.

"Scourge to base. Don't do that again."

Oh no.

_Oh yes._

"Who is Scourge?" Silas asked aside to Raf. "Another Cybertronian?"

"I am Scourge." The voice continued after a second. "I'm not Cybertronian. I'm from Earth."

"Oh really?" Silas asked. "And who made you, Scourge?"

The drone lifted its hand and held it in front of its face, clenching and unclenching. "MECH did. You should know this. You were literally right there the whole time."

"Wait, are you the drone we made?" Silas asked, the truth finally clicking in his mind.

"Drone seems so impersonal. Though 'predator' is suitable in its own way."

"MECH-1, converge at the location of the drop." The Scientist said into his radio. "Report findings."

"Scourge, how long have you been online?" Silas asked, less afraid than Raf would have expected.

"About… a week now, I think? I haven't really seen the sun until today." Scourge responded. "We'll need to have a chat about that later."

"And what is your function?" Silas asked, gesturing for the Scientist to approach the console. The two of them each produced a key and inserted them into ports on opposite sides.

"I am a tracker. I find targets, and I end them. I serve Earth in general and MECH in particular, if that's what you were worried about."

"Then why do you not obey my commands?" Silas demanded.

"Your _commands_ just made me flail like an ape." Scourge growled. "I nearly hit the ground at terminal velocity."

"Sir, it just said that it would disobey us to save itself." The Scientist said, turning his key. "You _know_ how that ends."

Silas didn't respond, his brow furrowed and his scowl deepened.

"It _ends_ with a living 'bot instead of a dead drone."

"Why," Silas squeezed his hands on his key, still deciding whether or not to turn it, "did you not speak until now?"

"I didn't have anything to say." Scourge noted. "And loud hunters rarely survive."

"MECH-1 to Silas." The radio buzzed. "Converging around drop zone. We have visual on another NBE. It's just standing there, talking to itself, likely communicating. Unknown insignia. Engage?"

Silas looked at the screen, then to the Scientist, and then to Raf. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and pulled his key. "No." he said, "It's ours. Approach, but do not engage."

The Scientist shook his head, removed his key, and walked away. Scourge turned his head from side to side to show a platoon of MECH commandos approach through the woods. His vision zoomed in on each of them before focusing on the squad leader.

"Are you whelps my hunstmen for this mission?" Scourged asked, kneeling down to regard them more closely.

"That would be affirmative, it seems." MECH-1 said, and pulled up his radio. "Sir, what is the new mission? The specimen is already packed."

"You will be following Scourge," Silas said into Scourge's broadcasting microphone, "hunting for more signs of Decepticon activity. Priority is stealth."

"Roger that, then." The trooper replied. "I take it this is the culmination of Project Chimaera?"

"That is correct."

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"This is the most badass thing I've ever seen in my life."

Raf didn't see the face Scourge made, but whatever it was, it made the grunts take a step back.

For one of the largest robots Raf had ever seen, Scourge was surprisingly quiet. MECH-1 and his unit were following right behind him, and their collective footsteps were louder than his. Silas was only barely using controls anymore, using controls only to turn Scourge's head towards things he found interesting.

"Tell me, Scourge, what does it feel like when I send manual input signals?" Silas asked.

"It's kind of weird, to be honest." Scourge muttered. "I barely realize that I'm following the commands, until I resist them. Like a bad itch that you don't realize that you've been scratching until you cut your nails."

Silas nodded in understanding when a flash appeared in the woods.

"A rad spike." Scourge announced to the comm. His eyes zoomed in on it and Raf recognized the Ground Bridge portal. "Should I get closer?"

"Yes. It may be Decepticons."

Scourge made a hand signal, and the MECH troopers fanned out to surround the clearing where the portal was. Scourge stepped closer, his view partially obscured by a large boulder. He was about to adjust his position when Bulkhead jumped through the portal, guns out, and swept the area, focusing on whatever was behind the rock obstructing his view.

"Clear!" He shouted. Ratchet stepped through the portal carrying his medical kit.

"Make it fast." Ratchet demanded.

"It would appear," said the voice of Starscream, "that like myself, Airachnid has gone rogue."

"Really now?" Silas said to himself. "It was only a matter of time. She wasn't exactly a team player, as I recall."

"Wait, you just let Starscream go?" Raf asked.

"We got what we needed from him, and he was of no further use to us. We dumped his unconscious body in the woods."

"And he managed to cross several international borders?"

"I didn't say which woods."

"What's it to us?" Ratchet asked.

"She is planning to retaliate against Meg-" Starscream stopped himself. "Er. Mankind. I can provide you with her current location!"

"I don't believe you." Ratchet snarled.

"Nor do I." Silas noted.

Raf didn't either.

Scourge shook his head.

_Lying through his teeth._

"Why wouldn't you?" Starscream cried out. "I directed you to the location of the Decepticon space bridge so you could rescue Orion Pax, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but then you helped MECH steal Bumblebee's T-Cog!" Bulkhead accused.

"Hardly." Silas scoffed, turning to Raf. "We did that all by ourselves."

"So?" Starscream protested. "He got it back, didn't he?"

Ratchet scoffed and turned back to the portal.

"I admit, aligning myself with those vile humans was a colossal error in judgment," Starscream pleaded, "but I am alone! I do what I must to survive. But I have paid the price. I am now the one missing his T-Cog."

Raf looked away from Silas. Recommending that had felt good in the moment when Bumblebee needed his cog back, but seeing Starscream desperate like this was just sad.

_Do not. Were the positions reversed, the Decepticon would not feel even a shred of remorse. You know this, we saw this._

"You're grounded?" Bulkhead questioned.

"Thus little, if any, threat to you." Starscream lamented. "But Airachnid and her Insecticon intend to-"

"An Insecticon?! Here!" Ratchet gasped. "How?!"

"Well, I would have asked, but I was too busy squeezing through a narrow crevice, trying to keep the vermin from _chewing my leg off_… While Airachnid watched."

Ratchet sighed and opened up his medical kit. "Fine then, a deal is a deal."

From the sounds of it, Ratchet was not being particularly gentle as he went to work fixing Starscream's leg, instead working to finish as quickly as possible. Once the weld job was finished, Starscream told him a set of coordinates. As he said them, Scourge's HUD displayed a satellite image of the location. It looked like an abandoned energon mine.

Once Bulkhead and Ratchet walked back through the Ground Bridge, Starscream stumbled to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Megatron, Airachnid, the Insecticon, and the Autobots, all in one place." He mused to himself out loud, as he often did. "No matter who loses… I win." Starscream laughed wildly and ran due north in the direction of the mine to watch.

"Does he do that often?" Scourge asked once Starscream was out of sight.

"Yes." Silas, Raf, and the Scientist said simultaneously. "And it looks like we have our target. MECH-1, Scourge has the location of our target. We have some bugs to squash."

"Sir, Starscream said that Megatron himself would be there. Is it wise to approach?" MECH-1 asked, his tone neutral as ever.

"A true hunter never flees from his mark." Scourge insisted. "We have a target, we have a location, and we have the element of surprise."

"You heard our friend." Silas announced. "Move out."

The MECH troopers re-checked their weapons without protest and moved out, following Scourge through the woods for several minutes until they arrived in front of the stripped mine. They took positions behind rocks and bushes, aiming for the mouth of the cave, and Scourge made an attempt to crouch behind tree cover.

"We probably shouldn't run through the main entrance." Scourge muttered. "Our quarry will be expecting that."

"Everybody fan out," MECH-1 ordered. "Attempt to find an alternate entrance."

The rest of the team scattered through the area, leaving Scourge alone with MECH-1, who climbed onto his shoulder for a better vantage point.

"Sir." Another voice said on the radio. "We've found a second access tunnel, but there's a problem."

"What's the problem?" MECH-1 asked.

"It's, well, too small for Scourge to fit through." The soldier reported. "Maybe a smaller NBE, but not him."

"Are you sure?" Silas questioned.

"With all due respect sir, it's difficult to forget how big Scourge is."

"Maybe the strike team should enter through the alternate entrance while I attack from the front?" Scourge suggested, before the thrust of an engine could be heard above. Scourge looked up and saw a grey jet streak through the air and into the cave.

"What was that?" Silas asked, replaying the last second on another screen.

"That was Megatron." Raf explained. "Taking the front entrance isn't an option anymore."

"All units, take alternate route." Silas commanded. "Scourge, maintain overwatch position."

"Affirmative." The trooper reported. A minute later. "Sir, the one known as Megatron is engaged in single melee combat with a giant insect."

"That would be an Insecticon." Rafael explained. "I've never seen one before."

"Also, Airachnid is observing the battle, and has not detected us."

"Do not engage!" Silas shouted. "Terminate the victor of the battle."

"Smart." Scourge noted. "But I want to see this Insecticon for myself. It would be a valuable test of my skills."

"Sorry, Scourge, but you're supposed to be a secret." Raf said.

"Yeah, yeah. I am aware." Scourge clenched his fists. "But my circuits yearn to-"

Scourge was interrupted by the telltale flash and distortion effect of a Ground Bridge portal.

"More Decepticons?" Silas asked.

"No. It's the Autobots!" Raf shouted excitedly.

"They also prey?" Scourge asked.

"No!" Raf yelled. "The Autobots are allies!"

Silas rocked his hands and made an "eh" sound. "The Autobots are friendly, let's go with that."

"Great." Scourge stood up. "I'll introduce myself."

"Negative." Silas corrected. "They must not see you."

"I may only be a week old," Scourge whispered, crouching back down, "but I don't think that's what allies do."

"Sir! Arcee has engaged Airachnid and chased her through our exit tunnel." A commando conveyed. "And Megatron has made visual contact with the Autobots."

_This day must be full of surprises for him._

"Arcee went after Airachnid? Alone?" Raf asked. "Scourge, protect her. Wait on the other side of the tunnel!"

"Now we're talking!" Scourge replied, and took off in the direction of the other entrance.

"Update: Megatron has won." One of the commandos announced. "And now Megatron is boasting. The Autobots have surrounded Megatron. Ha. Megatron has collapsed. Do we terminate?"

"Leave him." Silas replied. "The Autobots can handle him."

"Uh… Negative on that, sir. backup has arrived. Twenty Decepticon troops at the least, plus one bigger than the others, a Blue F-35."

"Scourge! Go back and help the Autobots!" Raf shouted.

"Are you serious? I just made it to the hole and-"

Airachnid lept out of the hole and into a tree, webbing trailing behind her. In a second, Arcee was pulled up by her feet, completely encased in webbing, hanging from a branch. She grunted and struggled as Airachnid tended to the web and swung down to meet her face.

"This may not be the day I take Megatron's spark," Airachid teased, readying one of her arm blades, "but it is the day I remove yours!"

"Scourge! Save her!" Raf shouted.

"For the love of… what do you want?!" Scourge shouted aloud. At that exact moment, a missile flew through the air, blasting Airachnid off of Arcee before exploding right next to his cover spot. Scourge looked at the source to see none other than Starscream sliding down a ledge, readying his other rocket.

"How right you were, Airachnid." He laughed, finally having the upper hand for once. "Payback _is_ sweet!" He fired again, and Airachnid spun like a drill to tunnel through the ground before it could make impact.

"Sir!" MECH-1 whispered. "There is a Mexican standoff happening right now and the odds are not with the Autobots. Do we interfere? Yes or no?"

"Help them!" Raf shouted.

"Belay that!" Silas barked. "Do not blow cover unless necessary!"

"They need our help!" Raf protested.

"And my men need to live!" Silas countered. "They're outnumbered! By giants!"

"Actually, sir, if we count the Autobots, we have the advantage."

"See?!" Raf shouted.

"Wait, sir! The one called Dreadwing had stowed his weapon." MECH-1 said. "He has promised to allow the Autobots to live in exchange for Megatron's escape!"

"See?" Silas said, "We didn't need to do anything. Now Arcee here is another matter."

Raf looked up at the screen. Starscream was circling around a helpless Arcee.

"Now, if there's anything I hate more than eight-leggers, it's two-wheelers."

"Go on." Arcee spat. "Get it over with."

"Engage, Scourge! Engage!" Raf shouted.

Before Silas could stop him, Scourge leapt from his cover and in one smooth motion, grabbed Starscream by the arm and yanked him from behind Arcee. Starscream's face gaped in fear as he took a look at Scourge, and pointed a rocketless arm at his chest.

"What?" Starscream cried out. "Who are you?! You're no Autobot!"

"Scourge, say nothing!" Silas shouted frantically.

"I wasn't going to kill her, I swear!" Starscream pleaded.

Silas assumed manual control, and wrapped one of Scourge's hands around Starscream's face.

"What are you doing?" Raf asked.

"He's seen Scourge." Silas said.

"What?!" Raf said. "No!"

"What's going on back there, Starscream?" Arcee asked, slightly afraid. "Who is that?"

Silas pushed his hands up on the throttle and tightened Scourge's grip. Starscream began to scream and claw uselessly at Scourge's forearm.

"No!" Raf shouted, and attempted to wrest control from Silas.

_Stop it, fool!_

Silas struggled with Raf, causing Scourge to flail Starscream about, before Silas threw Raf to the floor.

"Unless… Are you a Decepticon?" Starscream begged.

Scourge didn't answer, and Silas made him squeeze tighter, a groaning metal sound could be heard.

"Silas! Don't do this!" Raf pleaded. "This isn't right!"

"If you're going to make a cybernetic omelette, you're going to have to crack a few robotic craniums, Rafael." Silas shouted.

"She's yours to kill then!" Starscream cried "Take her life, not mine! Let me go!"

"You…" Arcee growled.

"_I change my mind, Silas." _Raf announced. _"Finish him."_

Silas grinned and pushed the throttle through all the way, and Scourge's hand closed completely around Starscream's head, making a crunching sound that echoed throughout the forest. His neck detached and his body hung lifelessly from Scourge's hand. Silas let go of the controls, and Scourge dropped the twisted remains of Starscream's head to the ground, and with all of his strength, twisted around and threw Starscream's body through the air, towards the ocean.

"Sir, we have another problem." MECH-1 buzzed in.

"Oh come on, what now?" Silas groaned.

"Listen for yourself."

"Dreadwing may have given you his word…" Megatron's voice growled. "But I have not given mine…"

"I know where this is going." Silas said. "You are clear to engage."

"Destroy them!" Megatron ordered, and the room filled with the sound of blaster fire.

"That's our cue, boys." MECH-1 shouted, and opened fire with their own weapons. The firefight lasted for thirty seconds at the most and ended as quickly as it began. "Uhh… Sir."

"Let me guess." Silas rubbed his temples. "We have a problem."

"Uh huh." MECH-1 said. "The Autobots are refusing to lower their weapons, and I'm not putting my guns down until they do. Oh, and Megatron and Dreadwing have escaped."

"Right. Sit tight for a moment." Silas said, and pressed a button on the Scourge mic. "Arcee, are you alright?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine!" Arcee said, wiggling in her web cocoon. "What happened, what did you do to Starscream?"

"That is a question you should not think about for too long." Silas said in Scourge's voice. "But I need you to call your teammates for assistance."

"For what, an ambush?" Arcee said. "How about you cut me down first, and then we'll talk."

"Your bargaining posture is highly dubious." Silas noted.

"I wasn't aware we were bargaining."

Silas laughed, and made Scourge grab Arcee with one hand and cut her down with the other, letting her down in a standing positon, still turned away from him. He turned to Rafael. "You know, technically, Arcee knows that there's another giant robot around…"

Raf scowled. That wasn't funny.

"OK, Now would you explain what's going on?" Arcee said, dusting off.

"If you turn around, you really _will_ need assist." Silas warned. "Just call for backup and I'll be on my way."

Arcee aimed a blaster behind her back and activated her communicator. "Optimus, in need of assist."

"Excellent." Silas said, and had Scourge begin to take a roundabout path to the main entrance. "MECH-1, come in."

"Yes sir?"

"Allow the Autobots to answer their comrade's distress call, and tell them that I said 'you're welcome'."

"Roger that." There was a pause. "OK, sir, we're clear."

"Excellent, Scourge will rendezvous with you outside once the Autobots leave."

"Actually, about that." MECH-1 said.

"For the love of… what's wrong now?"

"Nothing's wrong, sir. I just couldn't help but notice that we are surrounded by a significant number of Decepticon specimens, and I was thinking that we might need a considerably larger extraction team."

Every technician in the room perked up. Even the Scientist dropped his clipboard. Silas's eyes brightened.

"MECH-1?"

"Yes, sir?"

"You have a bright future in this organization."

_Such resourcefulness is unexpected. Excellent._

"How do you plan to bring the Vehicons to base here?" Raf asked.

Seven appeared behind Raf. "Come on, kid. We don't need you grounded for a week again."

"Right," Silas said, standing up, attempting to contain his excitement, "That is a problem for us to figure out. You need to go home. It's almost bedtime, after all."

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Chicks dig giant robots.

-Who do you know that gets an allowance?

-Nappa's best day ever.

* * *

AN: Why do I even have an update schedule? Well, chapter 7 will come on Sunday, but me being me i might just get excited and put it up Saturday or something.

This is only slightly a problem because I set up a nice buffer zone of chapters but I'm hitting some writers block in Chapter 12 and I'm closing in on it. But that's really more of a "me" problem.

The Scourge depicted here should resemble the 2010 Transformers Generations Scourge toy. Google it, since I can't link to it.


	7. Things Change

"_Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you."_

-Nikita Kruschev, Quadwal Cluster

* * *

Raf hadn't gotten a call from MECH for almost a month. Seven wasn't waiting in front of his school. They weren't on the rooftops, or spying on his house. He had to admit, he kind of missed his domestic terrorist friends. They certainly made for better conversation than the evil spirits in his mind.

_Evil spirit? You mock me._

After the first week without surveillance, Raf had returned to his normal schedule of spending his evenings with the Autobots and his friends. None of them had any suspicions as to Raf's activities, not that they had any reason to, and he was just fine that way. Bumblebee picked him up from school every day, as usual, and his life was normal again.

_Wording._

His life was routine again. He hadn't asked any of the Autobots about the events in the abandoned energon mine, since he wasn't meant to know about it, and none of them had seen fit to bring it up. He had expected Arcee to tell them about the mystery robot that had saved her, but she seemed to have just let it go. In fact, for once, everybody seemed to be happy.

That's why he was more surprised than anyone when a Corvette drove through the tunnel into the base.

He nearly collapsed when it transformed into a robot in front of everyone. The chartreuse green faded into an olive drab, and two perfectly round eyes glowed with an incandescent yellow glow. If it wasn't the size of a Vehicon, it would look like someone made a mannequin of a MECH trooper.

"Whoah!" Arcee shouted, instantly springing from her spot and leveling her blasters at the intruder. Bulkhead and Bumblebee quickly followed suit.

"And just who are you?" Ratchet asked, blades out and pointed at the visitor's neck. "And how did you find our base?" Ratchet's eyes traveled down to the sigil on the blue M surrounded by a diamond. "You don't _look_ like a Decepticon, but we're not the type to take chances.

_Liar._

"I am MECH-7." The visitor declared. "Take me to your leader."

"He's not here." Bulkhead said. "But we'll be happy to take a message."

"Now that's just rude. Do you treat all of your guests like this?"

Bumblebee beeped several words that Raf didn't feel comfortable translating.

"Oh I'm very sorry for the hostility." Ratchet said in a tone that suggested that he was not sorry at all. "But we and MECH have not had the smoothest of reputations. And our last guest kidnapped Rafael."

"Well I'm very sorry to hear that." Seven replied in a tone that suggested that he wasn't sorry either. "But I'm not here to kidnap Rafael."

_He'd just need to pick you up from school._

"And just what _are_ you here to do?" Arcee demanded.

"It's like Bulkhead said. I'm here to send a message."

The five bots stood motionless until Optimus Prime rolled in and transformed up. He took a moment to survey the situation before speaking. "I see we have a visitor. But he does not resemble any Decepticon I have ever seen. May I ask your name?"

"Sorry to just show up at your door unannounced, but we couldn't seem to reach you otherwise." Seven slowly pushed the blasters aside to approach Optimus. "I'm MECH-7, and I'm here to make you an offer, Optimus Prime."

"I was searching through a subterranean energon deposit." Optimus explained. "Tell me, do you mean that you were the seventh automaton in your production line, or…"

Seven's bot opened up its chest cavity to reveal MECH-7 himself comfortably harnessed in at the controls. He shook his head and closed it again.

"I see." Optimus said, grimly. "So you have finally managed to crack the code of our biology, and you wear our dead enemies like suits and walk among us."

"It's nothing personal." Seven replied. "Humans are small, and we can't always rely on titans to watch where they step."

"No." Optimus muttered. "I suppose you could not have stayed hidden in the shadows forever."

"Not on our own planet. It's the only one we have."

"Yes… It is." Optimus looked away. "And you have clearly been driven to the most brutal of methods to secure your place in it."

"Optimus, you can't be justifying this?" Ratchet sputtered. "They abducted Breakdown! Deconstructed him from cranial chamber to heel strut!"

"And they stole Starscream's T-Cog after they lost mine!" Bumblebee whirred.

"Not to mention kidnapping Jack's mom!" Arcee added.

"That is correct as well. It is clear that MECH does not have the same respect for us as life forms that we do for them," Optimus stared accusingly without changing his tone, "for I feel that if we treated their dead as they treat ours, they would not admire our 'scientific rigor'."

"Honestly," Seven corrected, "we really wouldn't care, as long as you shared any useful data with us. And we humans have done way worse to our _living_."

"What is it that you want?" Arcee repeated. "Optimus is here. Give us your message and leave."

"Ah, right." Seven cleared his throat dramatically. "A Newer World Order is coming. Do not struggle against what is inevitable. Any who stand in the way of humanity's destiny will be swept aside by the march of history. While on our planet, you will stand with us, or, like the Decepticons, you will stand against us and soon cease to exist."

"Do you mean to imply that MECH plans to take on the responsibility of protecting Earth from Megatron?" Optimus asked. "And have you proposed a similar 'peace offering' to the Decepticons themselves against us?"

"No. MECH has learned its lesson of collaborating with Decepticons. They are enemies of humanity. I have been sent to determine if you are as well."

"That would explain why the MECH strike team assisted you against the Vehicons in the Energon mine." Ratchet noted. "They weren't there to save you, they were there for more… specimens for their sick experimentation."

"Negative." Seven insisted. "MECH-1's team was there to investigate Decepticon activity. Their assistance was meant to signal an alignment shift, which you clearly misinterpreted." Seven tapped his chest. "The new suits were our reward."

"While it is admirable that MECH has taken steps towards the path of righteousness, your actions do not stand consistent with a group that seeks to protect all of humanity."

"Oh, really? And who, in your opinion, is qualified to protect humanity, alien?"

As if on cue, Agent Fowler's stepped out of the elevator, on his cell phone. "Prime! I just got a call from General Bryce! He-" Fowler blinked at the scene in front of him. "Who's the new guy?"

"MECH's trying to make us a better offer." Bulkhead growled. "He was just leaving."

"Wait, MECH? How'd they find the base?"

"That's classified." Seven said. "But honestly, it wasn't that hard, once we narrowed down possible locations near Jack's house."

"Unbelievable." Fowler pinched the bridge of his nose. "And what do you mean, 'make you a better offer'?"

"What he means," Seven said, walking over to Fowler's scaffold and pointing a finger at him, "is that as of now, MECH is the most technologically advanced group of humans on the planet. Time's passed you by, and the world is ready for something better than what the US Government has to offer. And you can take that to General Bryce and whoever else you want to, because we're ready if you try anything."

"What, you think you can destroy us?" Fowler demanded.

"No. History knows that you will destroy yourself."

"We will consider your offer, Number Seven." Optimus said, pulling the bot's shoulder back away from Fowler. "But I think that it is time for you to leave."

Seven looked at the kids, and back to Optimus. "Very well. When you have an answer for us, we'll know to receive it. We don't want to be your nemesis, Prime. In the meantime, MECH has adopted a 'no first strike policy' for Autobots. But know that if you show up in one of our bases unannounced, we will blast you into scrap and use your limbs as office chairs." With that, Seven pushed Optimus aside and transformed, speeding out of the main access tunnel.

_He certainly knows how to make an impression. Still, this is not quite the way I had intended for events to unfold. MECH should not have played their hand so early._

"Guys," Jack asked after a time, "what just happened?"

Optimus rubbed his eyes and turned away from the group. "Our war has spread."

"Optimus, we cannot seriously consider an alliance with MECH." Ratchet pleaded. "Not after everything they've done."

"And everything they _will_ do." Agent Fowler emphasized. "If there's one thing I can say for sure about MECH, it's that they don't exactly believe in democracy."

Optimus turned to face him. "That may be true, Agent Fowler, but as Megatron can attest, neither did we."

"Prime, if MECH has an army of robots now, the game has changed." Fowler said, pulling out his phone. "When I tell General Bryce about this, the Pentagon'll go nuts." Fowler scratched his chin. "We may need to go public. The military will have to react… adapt."

_Because ultimately, that is all they can do. The insects will slowly realize their place in the universe._

"NO!" Optimus shouted suddenly. Everybody took a step back from him. "Three parties in this war are bad enough when two sides are only loosely aligned in their hatred of the third. We _cannot_ allow a fourth side to become involved, much less one that is openly hostile to two sides, and barely trusts the last."

"_Allow_ us?" Fowler shouted back. "You think you can _allow_ us to defend _our_ country and _our_ planet against alien robots and super-terrorists? Let me get this straight for you, pal. We _allow_ you to stay in this base. We _allow_ you to freely travel this country. We _allow_ you to use our power grid for your Ground Bridge. We _allow_ you to mine for energon. We _allow_ you to keep Ground Bridge technology a secret from us. I _allow_ you to interact with these kids! I _allow_ your AWOL soldiers to stay under your jurisdiction. I _allowed_ Jack to get a space suit to save your behind when _you_ lost your mind. I _allow_ you to make these ridiculous statements!"

"Watch it," Bulkhead said, stepping over to Fowler, "Prime put more on the line for this planet than-"

"No, Bulkhead." Optimus interrupted. "Agent Fowler is correct. Even a Prime has no right to dictate to another species how it should handle a war. Primus knows that Cybertron as a whole is not an example to be followed. We intertwined humanity's fate with our own when we chose to take refuge upon this world, and they have the right to act accordingly."

_Long before that, Optimus Prime._

The base communicator rang, and Ratchet sighed before answering the call. Silas's face appeared on the screen, flanked by several silhouettes with MECH yellow goggles.

"Optimus Prime!" Silas grinned. "I would have been content to let MECH-7's message stand on its own, but it has come to my attention that Agent Fowler is in your base with you. Is he still there?"

Agent Fowler stepped forward. "What do you want, Si?"

"I just wanted to show our prospective allies what MECH brings to the table, and I felt it was best that you watch as well, so that you may fully understand the gravity of the situation." Silas typed at his computer and turned to the agents behind him. "Is the feed ready?"

Silas's face moved to a small box in the corner of their screen, allowing a view of the clouds to take up the main view. The source of the view was traveling extremely fast, and began to cut its thrust and angle downward. As the ground came closer, everybody slowly began to make out the details of a fully staffed energon mine, occupied by a large amount of Vehicons.

"So what, MECH has predator drones?" Fowler asked.

"In a manner of speaking." Silas responded. When the drone slowed down and was sufficiently close to the ground, it flipped in the air and made a familiar sound before a pair of arms sprouted into view, surprising everyone but Raf with a first person look at Scourge's perfected mid-air transformation. MECH's hunter landed on the ground in the middle of the crater with a thud, and several more impacts could be heard immediately afterwards. Scourge looked around to survey the area. Several dozen Vehicons stopped working and looked at him. A few readied their weapons expectantly.

"Decepticons. We are MECH." Scourge turned to gesture to the twelve transformed fighter escorts. "Surrender now, and we will destroy you peacefully."

The Vehicons looked at each other and all of them activated their arm cannons. Scourge quickly swept the area and pounced onto the first one to actually raise his arm at them. He was on it in a fraction of a second, punching the blaster clean off of its joint, and then tearing both of its arms out of its sockets and shoving them into its chest cavity. He crouched down to pick up the body and swung it around, sending the two Vehicons on either side flying into a the side of the cliff. His escorts immediately flipped both of their hands into diamond shaped blasters and began unleashing yellow laser fire on the troopers around them.

Scourge continued his warpath around the outside of the mine, tearing off Vehicon heads, shoving his hand straight through their chests and ripping out their sparks. More beast than bot, he tore through them without mercy. One of the Vehicons looked like it was in the middle of transforming its blasters back into hands before its cranium was punched clean off. It looked like he bit one of them in the neck and tore out its throat at one point.

The MECH fighters were equally merciless, dashing through the Vehicons fireteams and knocking them to the ground before blasting them in the face, or backing two of them against a wall and firing without hesitation. There were no MECH casualties.

_Marvelous._

Scourge turned to signal to the MECH fighters to form up, and the squad ran into the mine itself. Considerably more Vehicons were waiting inside, weapons ready, a few of them manned the energon drillers.

"Do not panic." He ordered. "You will all die."

All of the bots turned away from the carnage that Scourge wreaked upon the Vehicons in that mine. Miko's eyes were glued to the screen, taking in every detail. Jack's mouth went slack. Agent Fowler dropped his phone. Scourge and the mechs were at one point literally wiping the floor with the Vehicon troopers, to the point that it was almost a game to them to see who could terminate the hapless mooks in the most extravagant way possible. And through it all, for the first time, Unicron laughed.

When the combat was over, and the last Vehicon was dropped to the ground after having its head pounded into its chest, Scourge turned to face the one MECH fighter with a slightly different paint job than the others. It stepped forward and held up one of the bodies to Scourge.

"I am MECH-1, enemy of the Decepticons, and I bring you this message." He dropped the body. "Welcome to Earth."

The face of the mech stayed frozen on the screen, and Silas spoke up from the corner.

"I'd keep the video rolling, but given what we plan to do, that would just be gratuitous."

"Silas, what in the name of Kennedy's long johns were we watching that from?" Fowler asked, massaging his temples.

"Ah, yes." Silas said proudly. "That will make itself clear in time. I'm sure you understand, Agent. Tell General Bryce that I said hello." With that, he hung up.

Silence hung in the air for a few minutes.

"If none of you object," Optimus muttered, "I will be going for a ride, and will likely not return for the rest of the day. Agent Fowler, you are aware of my opinions on this matter. Do as you will with that knowledge. Autobots, deliberate this amongst yourselves."

Without waiting for a response, Optimus transformed and drove out of the tunnel, Agent Fowler took the elevator back to his helicopter. Bumblebee buzzed and took a seat next to the kids.

"Guys, this may be a bad time, but can we at least admit that MECH is kicking Decepticon tail almost as well as you?" Miko asked.

"Not 'almost as well', Miko." Bulkhead said. "Better. They outnumber us now at least three to one, even if they're just remodeled Decepticon grunts. Whatever they had us watching from could wreck with the best of us."

"If they're only attacking Decepticons, isn't that a good thing?" Jack posited. "If we both want the same thing, why not just let them keep doing it? Why get involved at all?"

"Seriously, Jack?" Arcee scoffed. "They kidnap your mom, and you just want to let bygones be bygones?"

"No, no! I just… well, Optimus is always saying that there is always the potential for people to change, isn't he?" Jack paced as he tried to find the right words. "If MECH has said that they're going to stop fighting good guys and only fight bad guys, doesn't that mean that, even if they aren't good guys, they aren't bad guys either?"

"No, Jack." Ratchet shook his head. "Merely deciding that you won't be as bad as you were before doesn't suddenly wipe your slate clean. Optimus is a capable leader and I would follow him to the edges of the universe, but he has demonstrated himself to be an exceptionally poor judge of character, all things considered."

"So, what?" Jack said. "I'm not saying to let them use our base, even though they very clearly know where it is. But there's no actual harm in cooperating against an enemy that actually wants to destroy us all. I've seen your planet. Hating your enemy forever is the whole reason your war got so bad in the first place."

"Trust me, Jack. Optimus has extended more opportunities for redemption to the Decepticons in general and Megatron in particular than could possibly be considered reasonable."

"But MECH aren't Decepticons." Jack emphasized. "The Decepticons have destroyed planets and raised the dead. They've destroyed millions of lives. MECH's crimes, as far as I remember, are various types of theft, kidnapping, and organ harvesting. I don't think they've even killed anybody we know yet."

"Seriously, Jack?" Arcee grew frustrated. "They kidnapped your mom. Tried to kill you!"

"No, if I remember right, Airachnid tried to kill me." Jack pointed out. "MECH was just working with her for technology. And that's bad too, don't get me wrong. But MECH is fighting Decepticons. Pretty well, by the looks of it."

"So you want us to just work with the lesser of two evils because it's convenient, Jack?" Arcee mocked. "That's still evil. If we start taking the easy road, then the whole war was for nothing."

"Wait, so if working with Decepticons made MECH more evil, would working with us make them good?"

"Do you think this is funny, Jack?" Bulkhead growled.

_Be my advocate, Rafael._

"Wait, that could work." Raf said, having formed the thought. "We're all in agreement, with the exception of Optimus, that the Decepticons are pretty much irredeemably evil. I say that as a human and you say it as their fellow Cybertronians, right?"

"Just where are you going with this, Rafael?" Ratchet asked.

"Well, I'm just saying that you and Arcee are pretty prone to grudges against your own kind, and you already don't like humans that much." Raf looked at Bulkhead. "Bulkhead said himself that these guys are good at wrecking Decepticons. Who knows? Maybe if they work with us, we can bring out the best in them, the same way the Decepticons brought out the worst?"

Bulkhead shrugged and looked at the other Autobots. "They're right. And you know Optimus will agree when he gets back. I say we give them a chance at least. Better us than the Decepticons."

Miko grinned. "Well then, looks like Bumblebee's the tiebreaker vote?"

Bumblebee made a low buzzing noise as he thought. "Raf… How did you get my T-Cog back from MECH?"

"I had been meaning to ask that, actually." Ratchet added.

_You asked nicely._

"I asked nicely." Raf answered.

Bumblebee hummed in disapproval.

"Well, I may have convinced them that if they focused on attacking Decepticons and took Starscream's T-Cog, the Autobots would leave them alone."

"Wait, you visited MECH by yourself?" Ratchet gasped. "You unilaterally offered them an alliance, without so much as consulting us?" Everybody turned to Raf and stared.

"Agent Fowler gave him the co-ordinates!" Miko explained, attempting to take some of the pressure off. "He needed that T-Cog back!"

"I offered _mine_." Ratchet protested.

"And I was going to do that," Raf said, struggling to stop his voice from wavering, "but when there was a chance to help my best friend without harming another, I would have taken any chance, no matter the cost."

_No matter the cost._

"You took a big chance, Raf." Bumblebee beeped, standing up. "No sense letting it all go to waste, I guess. I say we give MECH a chance as a… probationary ally."

Ratchet groaned. "Fine then. Optimus will be pleased, at least." He stroked his chin. "Agent Fowler, on the other hand, will not."

"Well… Bumblebee _did_ say probation, didn't he?" Raf noted. "We don't have to tell Fowler until it's official."

* * *

"I see." Optimus said, after the group explained their reasoning. "Jack, It makes me happy to see that you too carry the same belief in the capacity for change in your fellow lifeforms. I was right to entrust the Key to you."

"Not just me." Jack reminded. "Raf too."

"Yes, Rafael too." Optimus did not smile. "I am slightly disappointed, however, that Raf did not tell us of his diplomatic efforts until they literally transformed before our very eyes. While his intentions were no doubt pure, such endeavors should not be attempted without at least notifying others who may be affected by their consequences."

_It is as Ratchet says. The Prime cannot be decisive._

"Yes, Optimus." Raf nodded, silently agreeing.

"MECH says that they will know when we have a response for them. It would stand to reason that, one way or another, they intended to use you as a communication channel."

Raf reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He had a new text.

When they have a reply, tell them to head to the roof.

"Well… you're not wrong."

* * *

The Autobots and their human partners, minus Ratchet, took the freight elevator to the "roof" of the silo. Ratchet maintained that there was no good reason to leave the interior of the base completely empty in case MECH wanted to pull any tricks.

Sitting at the edge of the cliff, his back to the door, was Scourge. His black wings stood in contrast to the desert day. He almost didn't seem real. He stood up, turned around, and extended a closed hand to the Autobots. He did not step forward, but opened his hand to reveal what looked like a giant bull's horn.

"Who was this?"

"We could ask you the same question." Optimus replied. "You bear the same insignia as the one known as MECH-7."

"I am Scourge, the tracker. And those in MECH who can fly are known as my huntsmen, the Sweeps." He bowed slightly. "Now, my question?"

"That 'was' Cliffjumper." Arcee sighed.

"Cliffjumper was an Autobot, a partner, and a friend to all of us." Optimus explained. "Arcee perhaps most of all."

"Huh. Sorry." Scourge set down the horn where he had found it. "What happened to him?"

"He was taken from us by Decepticons." Optimus said, before Arcee could speak. "He is one with the Allspark now."

"Never stop making them pay." He nodded. "Who took him out?"

"Starscream." Arcee snarled. "Speared him right through the chest while the others held him down."

"Well then, it would seem that he has already paid in full."

"What?"

"I killed Starscream. Crushed his skull while he begged for mercy."

"That was _you?_"

"Arcee, to what do you refer?" Optimus asked.

"When Airachnid had me trapped in her web, Starscream blasted her, and was about to finish me off too when someone attacked him." She pointed at Scourge. "He threatened to kill me if I didn't call for backup and avoid looking at him."

Scourge raised a hand defensively. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, I only said that because we didn't want our agents shooting at your friends, and they wouldn't leave otherwise. And I wouldn't have really killed you if you looked at me, I would have just knocked you into stasis, brought you back to base, and had the MECH techs wipe your memory."

"Oh yes, these sound like valuable allies to our cause." Ratchet said into everybody's communicators.

"Oh yeah. That reminds me. Have you accepted MECH's alliance?"

Optimus stepped forward. "Tell your commander that while being an enemy of the Decepticons does not necessarily make you a friend of ours, We have agreed to a partnership on a trial basis."

Scourge's mouth opened but Silas's voice came out. "I suppose that that's the best I could have reasonably expected right now. MECH is happy to welcome our new allies into the fold."

"Whoah, Silas took the big bot for himself?" Miko asked.

"Not quite, uh... Miko." Silas answered. "Scourge is an autonomous mechanism. But I can seize control as the need arises." Scourge waved his hands and hopped to demonstrate. "Luckily, he is capable enough on his own that the need rarely arises."

"AND they use living Cybertronians as puppets too? Optimus, please!" Ratchet fumed.

"Scourge, why would you give up your willpower in such a way?" Optimus asked, concerned. "Did they torture you?"

"Torture him?" Silas laughed. "Why would we torture the culmination of all of our labor? Scourge is a human invention, not one of… whatever you robots are." Scourge stared at his hands in mild confusion. "Besides, he can resist the control if he really puts his mind to it. I don't even think it hurts."

"You expect us to believe that MECH succeeded in the creation of a genuine artificial intelligence?" Ratchet demanded.

"I am afraid, friends, that that bit of knowledge must remain classified." Silas said. "Unless there are any remaining questions?"

Optimus extended a hand. "Scourge, any allies in our fight for peace are well appreciated. I look forward to fighting alongside you, should the need arise."

Scourge extended his hand and shook Optimus'.

"Optimus, did you shake Scourge's hand, or Silas'?" Bulkhead asked.

"Yes." Scourge responded in both voices at once, before jumping off, transforming, and blasting off into the distance.

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-SCIENCE!

-None shall pass!

-Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAAKE!

* * *

AN: Reviews and commentary appreciated. I'm back on schedule, expect Chapter 8 on Thursday.


	8. Bug Problem

"_Prepare yourself, Megatron, you pompous scrapheap! For my vengeance will be swift and painful!"_

-Starscream, Malgus Cluster

* * *

It really shouldn't have surprised Raf, having been inside each Autobot at least once, but Raf was still impressed that Seven's car looked exactly the same on the inside, save for the new insignia on the steering wheel and a new button on the side of the gear shift.

"It wasn't as easy as you'd think, actually." Seven explained when Raf asked about it after he picked him up from school. "The first few times we tested the transformation, we couldn't always account for where we'd end up in the new form."

"Did anybody get hurt?"

"Nah, it was just jarring when one minute, you'd be in the driver's seat, transform, and find yourself sitting in your bot's hands. Or when they'd put you in the piloting rig, try to transform back into a car, and have the thing dump you into the trunk."

"That actually sounds pretty funny."

"Oh it was, when it wasn't happening to you." Seven nodded. "Even though the techs promised me that they had the conversion schema locked down, I was kind of worried when I rolled into your base that I'd be dropped right out of this thing's… foot."

_It certainly would have diminished the effect._

"So what has MECH been doing now?"

"It's really been business as usual, actually. MECH-1 and his sweeps have been going on 'hunts' with Scourge for Energon mines to raid. The rest of us have just been gathering energon, training with the suits, and otherwise laying low."

"That sounds… kind of boring, actually."

"Boring?" Seven scoffed. "Maybe you get to spend your afternoons with robots all the time, but this is way more exciting than what the military recruiter promised me."

"You were in the military?"

"Technically, I still am. We all are."

"Even Silas?"

"No. Not Silas. That's why he's the only one of us who doesn't wear a mask, he has nothing to hide."

"Why did he leave?"

"You'd have to ask him. He never really brings it up, and none of us really care enough to ask. We know he's experienced, and we know what MECH stands for. That's enough for me, anyway. And that's really what MECH is about."

_Unquestioning loyalty?_

"Believing in experience?"

"No. It's about actually standing for something."

* * *

MECH really was proceeding basically as normal at their new base. The whole place would have seemed dead were it not for the abundance of idle cars around, and several warehouses with the lights on visible through small windows.. Seven drove through a hidden access tunnel into the main building that held Silas's control chamber, where the commanding officer was sitting in the control chair watching the world through Scourge's eyes. Attached to the chair was a somewhat hastily added sidecar.

"Rafael, welcome!" Silas greeted, without taking his eyes away from the sight of Scourge sharpening his claws on a belt sander at what looked like the main hangar of MECH's original base. "Take a seat."

Raf inspected the sidecar. The seat itself looked like it was pulled from one of MECH's usual cars, and combined with something else…

"Made from the hand of our dear former friend Skyquake." Silas explained. "Worry not, it doesn't bite."

Raf sat down in it. It was surprisingly comfortable. And it seemed to emit a comforting warmth around him.

_My blood still resonates here. Does Silas not feel it?_

"Sir, is any more required of me?" Seven requested. "I'm scheduled for a patrol soon."

"Thank you, MECH-7." Silas waved him off. "Keep up the good work."

Seven saluted, got into his car, and drove away.

"So," Silas asked. "What did you think of our display for your friends?"

Raf shrugged. "Did you have to make it so… brutal?"

"Don't blame us." Silas said. "Scourge possesses a natural aggression and ferocity that lends itself well to his role as a hunter."

Raf frowned. That didn't sit right with the way he acted with Arcee and the others.

"In fact, Scourge was such a resounding success, that MECH is working on a second project, with our newest specimen."

"Newest specimen?"

"Yes," Silas said proudly. "Our friend Megatron did us the favor of decapitating a type of Cybertronian that we have never seen before." Silas tapped some keys at his seat and pulled up a live video feed of a headless Insecticon strapped to a MECH operating table. "It's in the next building over, and considerably larger than any other robot that we've seen. Easily a meter over Scourge. Probably more, if it didn't hunch so much."

"It's an Insecticon." Raf explained. "Very big, very mean. Do you guys want to make it into another MECH suit?"

"No. This time, MECH has set its sights higher. We are going to reformat this thing from the ground up. And there's one subsystem in particular that fascinates us. It seems to be-"

"MECH-7 to Silas. MECH 7 to Silas." The radio buzzed. "Log our location, we've detected an energon spike nearby."

"Very good, investigate with your team." Silas ordered.

"Sir, scanners indicate that the Autobot known as Bulkhead is in the area. Are we clear to make contact?"

"I encourage it." Silas said. "Always good to establish a working rapport with our new allies."

"Affirmative."

Silas ended the call for a moment and thought to himself.

"You know what," he said, "I should probably let the other Autobots know about that to prevent any unwanted surprises or misunderstandings."

Silas called up Outpost Omega-1 and waited for a response.

"Optimus Prime!" Silas greeted as soon as Ratchet answered his call. "I have a proposition for… You're not Optimus Prime."

"No. I'm not." Ratchet sighed. "What is it? What do you want?"

"Now, now, um…"

"Ratchet." Raf whispered

"Ratchet. Is that any way to greet a teammate? A comrade in arms? A brother in battle?"

"No." Ratchet said. "Fortunately, you are none of those things."

"You wound me." Silas smiled. "Anyway. Tell Optimus that we have detected an unusually high energon spike, and we saw that Bulkhead was in the area. I took the liberty of ordering a team of ground M-Cons to investigate and-"

"Wait a nanocycle. Is that Rafael with you?" Ratchet said, his eyes focusing.

_It would appear that an error in judgment was made._

Raf sunk deeper into his seat.

"Yes." Silas said, in an attempt to stop a Ratchet from reacting rashly. "As the primary liason between us, Rafael was invited to our base for the day. He is perfectly safe, I assure you."

"Is this true, Rafael?" Ratchet said, and then began to emit a series of clicks and beeps like Bumblebee. "I have a Ground Bridge lock on your co-ordinates if you need rescue."

"It's fine Ratchet, really." Raf nodded.

"_Anyway._" Silas stressed. "I dispatched an M-con team to-"

"M-Cons?" Ratchet asked.

"Yes, it's the name we settled on for our mechanized containment teams. One is joining up with Bulkhead as we speak."

"Whatever. Send me the co-ordinates, and I'll tell Optimus when he returns to base." Ratchet said, grumbling "M-cons" under his breath. He received the co-ordinates and entered them in. "Silas, I'm not picking up any energon readings at that location, nor am I receiving Bulkhead's signal."

Silas frowned. "Strange. I was just looking at them." He pushed another button. "MECH-7, report."

No response.

"MECH-7, have you rendezvoused with Bulkhead?"

Still nothing.

"Having technical difficulties, _partner_?" Ratchet mocked.

Silas pinched his nose. "Just… Call Bulkhead."

In a second, Ratchet's satisfied grin vanished. "Strange, I cannot detect Bulkhead's signal either. What did you do?"

"What did _I_ do?" Silas scowled. "Please. They would have called in if there was a serious problem. They and the energon must have moved underground for some reason, out of our communications range."

"Let's hope so, Silas." Ratchet said, and then began to beep again. "And I hope to the Allspark that you know what you're doing, Rafael."

"I hope so too, Ratchet." Raf said, before Silas ended the call.

* * *

"Right, now, where was I." Silas said. "Right, right, our project. Come, come." He stepped out of his seat and gestured for Raf to follow. Raf reluctantly left the claw-hand. Silas led him into the garage where a dark blue armored van was waiting. "My personal ride, courtesy of the late Breakdown."

Raf sat in the van, trying his best to ignore that, and Silas drove out of the building and all the way across the complex. Looking out the window, there were considerably more cars parked in this area. He pulled into the building and parked his car in the main chamber, where the Scientist was taking notes on his PDA while several technicians studied the decapitated Insecticon.

"Silas." The Scientist said. "We've made almost no progress in determining the nature of the telepathic nature of the specimen. No part of its head seems to have any form of receiving apparatus that we can hope to understand, and, frankly, none of its bodily organs make sense. Even its transformation cog is constructed differently."

"Disappointing. Any explanation?"

"Like I said, nothing quite makes sense. It looks like its body was made for whatever alternate form it has. And the primary processing chamber is severely damaged from its fight with Megatron."

"So then what are you doing now besides wasting time?"

"Well, unless we can nab ourselves a live specimen or reassemble and jump-start this one, I recommend we just scrap the mind-link project for now and work on converting this one to a suit like the others."

"Well then, it's a good thing I didn't ask what you recommended." Silas tapped at his own forehead. "The ability to control these machines with nothing but our own will is critical to further increasing the technology gap we have with our enemies. The fact that you allowed our giant robot cars to be controlled _like_ a car is a miracle of ingenuity, but frankly, it's cumbersome. It's only fortunate that MECH-1's team can fight to the best of their abilities, since their rigs have a full flight control setup to work with. But with the contributions made by our new friend, our army will be able to operate at the next level. We will be one step closer to the perfect meld of man and machine!"

The Scientist clapped softly. "Very moving, sir. But the fact remains that we can't study the telepathic connection in action if the specimen is dead."

"Then. Revive. The. Specimen." Silas said, knife-handing in direction of the Scientist and the Insecticon.

"An excellent decision, sir." The Scientist murmured, turning to the other technicians. "Alright boys, hook up the head, because we're playing god again!"

The techs nodded and lifted the head onto one of the construction arms, which lifted the head up to the torso. Once it was in place, the technicians moved in to weld a blue device between its head and neck before finally attaching it. It protruded unnaturally once the pieces were attached, like a set of bolts from its neck.

"And just what is that?" Silas asked.

"Well, hopefully, it will intercept and log any incoming and outgoing data from the head to the body for us to analyze later. It also provides the 'spark' of life for it if it does receive our input." The Scientist explained. "I haven't given a name for it yet, but I'm leaning towards the 'cerebro-shell'."

_Does he use "spark" metaphorically or has this human found a way to literally pull life force from the well?_

Silas and the Scientist took a few steps back from the Insecticon as the technicians began affixing cables from the wall to the neck module. One of them flashed an "ok" signal to the Scientist, who yanked Raf back and entered a command on his PDA. The Energon drip hummed and began pumping the fuel into the Insecticon, and the neckpiece glowed blue, hummed, and crackled with energy. With each pulse, the Insecticon spasmed on the bed, one time just barely missing a MECH tech that was a bit slow to reach minimum safe distance.

"Uh… guys." Raf shouted over the machine, stepping further back. "Shouldn't you have restrained the Insecticon before you tried to experiment on it?"

"It was dead before we experimented on it!" The Scientist yelled in response. "What would have been the point in that?"

Silas reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of earplugs. "Any readings yet?" he shouted, handing a set to Raf and putting one in his own ears. "We're getting movement, obviously!"

The Scientist looked down as his readings and shook his head before he shut down the machine. "Nothing. It's not even responding to our normal control frequencies, much less some hive-mind we haven't identified yet."

"Well then it looks like we still have quite a bit of work ahead of us, then, don't we?"

As the Scientist nodded, Silas received a transmission on his radio again.

"MECH-7 to Silas, MECH-7 to Silas. We have rendezvoused with Bulkhead and been abducted aboard the Decepticon ship. Normal communications are jammed. We are attempting to locate a means of escape that will allow us to remain undete- agh!" A siren could be heard in the background. "Who hit that button? Turn it off!" The sound of a screaming bot could be heard as the transmission cut. It sounded kind of like Starscream.

"Should we send Scourge to rescue them?" the Raf asked.

"Nonsense." Silas said. "That would require us to track the position of the ship, send our trump card alone to assault a vessel filled with enemy troops, and risk exposing both himself, and MECH-7 to Megatron. MECH-7 and Bulkhead will have to handle it on their own."

"But what if they find Bulkhead? Couldn't you at least send MECH-1 and his team?"

"I have the highest confidence that Bulkhead will be fine. MECH-7 is a highly trained field agent, and to send MECH-1's sweeps would unnecessarily risk blowing their cover."

"Hang on, sir." The Scientist interrupted, tapping Silas on the shoulder. "Something's happening." The Insecticon's eye had taken on a faint red glow, and the scientist looked down at his tablet. "It's receiving some kind of messaging, but it's not responding. The frequency is… pretty idle. I'll see about tracing the source. More than likely there are a whole lot more of these things out there waiting to be retrieved."

"Excellent." He turned to Rafael. "Rafael, return to the Scourge panel and relay the coordinates to him and MECH-1 when I get them."

"You're trusting the kid?" the Scientist questioned.

"He's walking through our base surrounded by our guards to relay a message to a drone that we built with his assistance. Trust has nothing to do with it."

Raf nodded and made it to the door before a loud shriek from behind him. He turned around to see the Insecticon struggling to return to its feet, and striking out at the equipment around him. The beast took in its unfamiliar surroundings before bellowing again and pounding a fist into the screen next to him.

"What's happening? Who is controlling it?" Silas asked, ducking towards his truck.

"Not me!" the Scientist shouted, entering commands on his device to no avail. "It's not acting on its own will, the signals are coming from somewhere else!"

"Well then find it!" Silas shouted, jumping into the driver's seat of his truck. "Rafael, why are you still here?!" His truck transformed into a robot, and the hand retracted in place of an oversized hammer. The cannon on his shoulder hummed with a charge.

"Sir, wait!" the Scientist shouted. "We're getting some amazing data right now! Don't smash it until we can at least find the source!"

Silas barely managed to look down and say "Wait, seriously?" before the Insecticon's fist slammed into him and knocked him 50 feet into a wall.

The Scientist turned to Raf. "Kid, go tell Scourge to find the source of the transmission before this thing tears up the base!"

"Why not bring Scourge here?!" Raf shouted, hesitantly begging to run backwards out the door.

"Just do as we say!" the Scientist snapped, jumping out of the way of a shard of falling debris. Silas stumbled forward and shook his head before charging at the Insecticon twice his size. With a mighty swing, he hit the bug-bot directly in the sides, and it clutched at its dented abdomen before howling and attacking again, scoring multiple glancing blows against Silas, who was doing his best to dodge in his relatively clunky battle suit.

Raf bolted out of the building and sprinted in the direction of the main control building, which stood out as the tallest structure in the installation. As he ran past a MECH car, its headlights turned on and it pulled out of its spot and circled around Raf to block his way. The driver rolled down his windows.

"Halt, where are you off to in so much of a hurry?" the commando demanded.

"Silas sent me to the Scourge controls to relay new commands to him." Raf panted. "He's fighting an Insecticon!"

"A what?"

"It's the giant bug robot thing!" Raf vaulted over the hood of the car and shouted back. "Go help him!"

The car transformed and slammed a hand down in front of Raf, leaning in close. "Here's the thing, kid. I don't believe you. Why don't we just calm down and go back to have a nice little chat with Silas about your security clearance on our base." Two more MECH cars arrived at their location, surrounding Raf.

A hundred yards back, there was an explosion of rubble as the Insecticon stumbled out of the hole in the building. Silas's bot charged out further missing its right arm, which was in hammer mode and being used as a lengthened melee weapon by the left arm. The two other cars transformed into robot mode and switched out their blasters, and the one blocking Raf stood up just in time to be hit with a flying arm that the Insecticon had managed to wrest from Silas' grasp and fling away.

Raf seized the opportunity and ran as fast as his super powered little legs would take him. The base's sirens went off and more MECH cars were speeding past him towards the fight, some of them just barely missing him. He sprinted through the access tunnel, pushing past the guards and jumped into Silas' control chair.

As he caught his breath, he crouched down to push the seat forward as far as it would go. Silas was tall.

Raf pulled up communications with Outpost Omega One and waited for Ratchet's response.

"What is it now, Silas? We're very busy." Ratchet said impatiently. "Oh, it's you, Rafael. Is there a problem? Do you need pickup?"

"No." Raf reported. "But we do have a problem of a rogue Insecticon in our base receiving transmissions from another location."

"That is actually what I was just telling Optimus about." Ratchet noted. "I've been detecting some rather curious subterranean frequencies from the location where we last encountered Megatron, MECH, Airachnid, and her Insecticon."

"Wait, what does Raf mean 'our base'?" Arcee asked from off-screen.

"Rafael has been designated by MECH as the ambassador from our organization to theirs." Ratchet explained in clear disapproval. "He is speaking to us from their base."

"Right, and there's an Insecticon on the loose." Raf repeated. "If you have the co-ordinates, let me know so that I can send Scourge there."

"So that MECH can harvest even more Insecticons for their army?" Ratchet scoffed. "I think not."

"Yeah, Ratchet, uh…" Raf turned towards the sound of another explosion could be heard outside. "I think MECH's not going to be picking up any more Insecticons any time soon."

"Any assistance that MECH can provide against an Insecticon horde will be gladly appreciated." Optimus told Ratchet. "Even more so if Rafael is in control and not Silas."

"I _really_ hope that you know what you're doing, Rafael." Ratchet sighed. "Shall I open up a Ground Bridge for Scourge to waltz into our base? Or is he already on the roof again?"

"On my way, Ratchet." Scourge interrupted. "And if you don't mind, I'll lead."

* * *

"We are, in all likelihood, witnessing the launch of a mission to terminate Megatron." Optimus said to Scourge, Arcee, and Bumblebee once they emerged from the Ground Bridge on a cliff overlooking the abandoned South American energon mine. A swarm of hundreds of beast-mode Insecticons was pouring out of the mouth of the cave and flying off into the distance.

"I can't think of a reason to stop that even if we could." Arcee said.

"Arcee, if the Insecticons destroy the Decepticon ship, they'll kill Bulkhead and the MECH agents trapped there." Raf pointed out.

"That is correct," Optimus noted, "and we _can_ stop Airachnid." He stepped forward to the edge of the cliff, looked down at her, and flipped out his blasters, powering them up to fire.

Airachnid turned around to face the noise and looked up at them. "Rear guard," she commanded, "engage the Autobots… and their new friend."

Scourge locked on to her. "Rafael, she's the one outputting the signal to control the Insecticons."

_No, really? Are you sure?_

"Well, stop her!" Raf said.

"With gusto." Scourge said, jumping into the air… And getting rammed in the chest by an Insecticon. "Right. More prey."

Five more Insecticons dive-bombed them, filling the view with dust, and Scourge locked on to Arcee, who had transformed and ramped off of the cliff in pursuit of a fleeing Airachnid.

"Do I pursue?" Scourge asked.

"And leave Optimus and Bee against six Insecticons?" Raf replied. "No way!"

Scourge nodded and looked up at the Insecticon hovering nearest to him and leapt into the air and grappled with it. He grabbed each of its wings in an attempt to force it to the ground, but the Insecticon stuck out at its exposed midsection with one of its free arms, causing Scourge to nearly lose his grip entirely before he managed to latch on to its horn. Hanging precariously by one hand, he began striking at the Insecticons relatively weak underbelly with his claws.

The Insecticon responded by flying back, facing a cliff face, and attempted to ram Scourge into it. The first slam nearly partially embedded Scourge into the cliff face, the second slam allowed Scourge to regain a two handed grip on the Insecticon's horn. In a move the physics of which Raf could not hope to determine, Scourge flipped the Insecticon in an overhead swing, using its own momentum to smash it into the cliff.

Still maintaining his grip, Scourge swing down and pushed off of the cliff with his legs, turning in mid-air to put the Insecticon underneath him, allowing gravity to seize them. As soon as they impacted on the ground, Scourge straddled its chest and continued clawing at its chest until he broke through its armor, grabbed a handful of whatever was inside it, and tore it out, dropping it to the ground.

"Not that I need one to crush my enemies," Scourge panted, "but maybe I should start carrying a weapon." He stretched his wings out, hopped back up to the plateau, and looked around. Optimus and Bee had each taken out an Insecticon, leaving one left between the two of them.

"Wait, where are the other two?" Raf asked.

Scourge scanned the sky and acquired a lock on the two Insecticons pursuing Arcee, who was pursuing Airachnid. Without waiting for a command, Scourge jumped off of the cliff and transformed, jetting off after them.

Suddenly, behind him, Raf could hear that the blaster fire had gotten considerably louder outside. The on-base Insecticon was evidently still in fighting form, and moving closer to him. Intentionally or not, Raf didn't want to know.

_Time is of the essence, boy. Your dismemberment would set my plans back considerably._

Without asking him, Raf pushed Scourge's throttle forward, sending him into one of the Insecticons he was tailing. The impact destroyed the bug's wings, and it fell screaming to the ground before impacting with a tree and exploding. Scourge transformed into robot mode and grasped for the second Insecticon, but fell short and dropped to the ground, using his wings to slow his descent.

"What was that?" He demanded as he took off sprinting through the forest after Arcee.

"Must go faster!" Raf said into the microphone.

"Are you kidding, boy? I know what I'm doing." He looked up at the other Insecticon, keeping pace with it. He pushed off of the ground and reached for one of the Insecticon's dangling legs, but it hovered further up, just out of reach. Scourge hit the ground running, and tried again. The Insecticon dodged to the right.

"Looks like we're ramming again." Scourge said, and jumped again, this time transforming at the top of the arc and pushing into the Insecticon. The Insecticon righted its course and accelerated slightly downwards towards Arcee. He flew above it, matching its speed. When the Insecticon began to open fire, he transformed in mid-air, dropping to straddle the Insecticon. Getting a good grip, he tore off its wings and used his own to alter its angle of descent… directly into Airachnid.

The Spider-bot spotted them at the last second, jumping and burrowing into the dirt. The Insecticon crashed into the ground and exploded, knocking Scourge back into Arcee. The impact forced her back into robot mode.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"You went, urgh, hunting." He groaned. "Figured you needed some expert assistance."

"Really? 'Expert assistance'?" She snapped. "I was on her tail!"

"And the Insecticons were on yours. You're welcome."

"I could have handled them!"

"Really now? All by yourself?" Scourge mused. "You were in a bit of a bind last time, as I recall."

"Fine, come on then." Arcee said, looking down the hole. "I think you might be too big." She switched her blasters out and jumped in.

Scourge looked down after her, tucked in his wings as best as he could, and held his arms at his sides. "Don't worry, girl, it'll fit." He smiled and jumped in.

As Scourge descended, the blaster fire behind Raf went silent. Raf looked back. Was the Insecticon defeated?

The building shook as something slammed into the wall. Again, and again, and again, until the wall broke. When the dust cleared, Silas's bot was being lifted off of the ground, missing a left leg, and its left arm hung limp, barely attached.

The Insecticon, for its part, was dented and burned in several places, but was barely slowed down, even by the blaster fire that the other MECH battle suits were pouring into its back. It screamed into Silas' mech's face and slammed it into the ground.

"Any progress there, Rafael?" Silas asked, "I can't keep this thing on the ropes forever."

"Scourge is on his way to the source of the transmissions." Raf said, hiding behind the seat. "Wait, what do you mean 'on the ropes'?"

"Please," he said as the Insecticon stomped on the remaining leg. "I've got him right where I want him. These are just… scratches.."

"If you say so." Raf said. "Scourge, we're on the clock here."

"Busy!" He shouted. Raf saw that he and Arcee were in melee combat with Airachnid in what he had to guess was an Insecticon nest. He was having serious issues moving in the cramped space, and Airachnid was having an easier time dodging his blows than Arcee's.

Raf looked back at the Insecticon, who was hammering at Silas's chest piece. "Just a scrap wound, Rafael, really! Take your time!"

Raf turned back to the screen. Arcee and Scourge had cornered Airachnid in the cave. She lunged at the two of them, knocking Arcee back onto a platform. Scourge reached out and grabbed Airachnid by her spider legs and swung her into the ground, stomping repeatedly before slamming her into another of the platforms. Airachnid looked up at him and smiled weakly before the platform sprung walls up around her like an egg. She closed her eyes and froze in place. Scourge turned around and saw that Arcee was in a similar predicament.

There was a groaning sound behind Raf, and he saw that the Insecticon had succeeded in tearing off Silas's chestplate. It screamed into his face- his real face- and drew a hand back to strike him, and froze in place. Silas smiled and hit a button on his control panel. A cannon flipped out of his shoulder and fired a rocket directly into the open maw of the Insecticon, blasting it back.

Raf hopped out of the seat and climbed the robot's torso to look at Silas. He was covered in cuts, scrapes, bruises, and burns. One of his eyes was bleeding profusely, and one of his arms appeared to be broken.

"Rafael…" he groaned.

"Silas, are you… OK?"

_Does he look OK?_

"It's… just a flesh wound," he coughed, "let's… call this a draw."

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos:**

-The Raid 3: Nemesis

-*Looks at flying robot space dinosaur* I'm in.

-I'm not saying I don't like humans, I'm just saying I wouldn't want one to drive my ambulance.

* * *

AN: I've always thought that Bumblebee's manner of speech was actually "native" Cybertronian, which is why the other Transformers can understand him no problem. In that vein, the other 'bots _can_ talk like that as well, but choose not to, for whatever reason. Maybe English is better for their needs once they learned it.

Chapter 9 comes out this Sunday. In the meantime, reviews! I love reviews. I feed off of your feedback, people. If you have an opinion you want to share on the internet, I want to hear it.


	9. Breach of Protocol

"_I'll say one thing for my namesake, he liked his artillery big and plentiful. Now, where was I? Ah yes, mindless destruction! Good for the spark I always say."_

-Predacon Megatron, Primax Cluster

* * *

_This is not the time to panic._

This was the perfect time to panic.

_He said he would be fine._

He was clearly delirious.

_MECH will not blame you._

That wasn't the issue!

_Then what is the issue?_

Silas was dying. And at this point, that counted as a Bad Thing.

_Just calm down, boy._

Calm? Raf was totally calm. Why wouldn't he be calm? He only just saw a man nearly get disemboweled from within another disembowelment.

_And what will panicking do?_

It was better than doing nothing!

_It really isn't._

"Kid."

What?

"KID!"

"_What?!"_ Raf shouted, his eyes burning.

"You need to get off of Silas if we're going to move him." The Scientist shouted from the ground. "We need to survey the damage."

Raf leapt off of the robot and landed in a crouched position in front of the Scientist and stood up to look him in the eyes.

"_Tell me," _his voice said, _"that you at the least gathered some useful data from this incident."_

"Listen, kid," the Scientist spat, "I know you think your tough stuff around here, but-"

Raf hopped up and snatched the tablet out of the Scientist's hand, and began swiping through. The device had logged a wealth of transmission data, all from Airachnid's subconscious commands. It was more than enough to begin prototyping if MECH's researchers weren't completely incompetent. He shoved the tablet back into the Scientist's chest and walked back to the screen.

Optimus and Bumblebee were inspecting the eggs that held Airachnid and Arcee, and were speaking amongst themselves and eyeing Scourge.

"Scourge, do you truly mean for us to believe that Arcee and Airachnid just happened to step into Insecticon stasis pods?" Optimus asked.

"No." Scourge answered, slightly frustrated. "Like I said already, Airachnid knocked Arcee into that one, and I slammed Airachnid into the other one."

"And were you aware of the effects of that course of action before you embarked upon it?"

Scourge shook his head.

"Very well," Optimus said, and put a finger to his ear. "Ratchet, we require a Ground Bridge… And prepare the plasma cutter." With a crackle of energy, a portal opened up behind Optimus. He stepped over to the pod holding Arcee, and with a grunt, tore it out of the ground and stepped slowly towards the portal. He turned his head back to Scourge. "Scourge, it would be much appreciated if you would bring Airachnid through as well."

"Into your base?" Scourge asked.

"Seriously, Optimus?" Bumblebee buzzed.

"Yes," Optimus nodded "With Arcee in stasis and Bulkhead's whereabouts unknown, we are severely shorthanded. With the location of our base already known to MECH, I am trusting in Rafael to provide assistance with the means currently at his disposal."

Raf looked back to see MECH troopers begin lifting Silas' exosuit and moving it out of the building, and others began dragging the Insecticon's corpse away. None of them seemed to be paying even the slightest bit of attention to the fact that Raf was in the control seat. Raf turned back around. "OK, Optimus." He spoke through the Scourge mic. Scourge knelt and pulled Airachnid's pod out of the ground, and followed Optimus and Bumblebee through Ratchet's portal.

* * *

"Stasis lock." Ratchet confirmed after inspecting the two pods. "It's better than she deserves." He said, pointing to Airachnid. "Luckily, Arcee should be completely unharmed, once I find a way to get the pod open."

"How does it open?" Raf asked through Scourge.

"Well, that's the difficult part, walking-security-breach." Ratchet scoffed. "The Insecticon sentries on Cybertron were programmed to awaken when an Autobot was in proximity, but this one seems to require a control frequency to awaken whatever lies within."

"And what's the control frequency?" Raf asked.

Ratchet gestured to Airachnid.

Scourge stepped forward and tapped the glass on Arcee's pod. "I could just rip it open." He suggested.

"You could," Ratchet admitted, pushing his hand aside. "If we didn't particularly care about the potential harm you could cause Arcee."

"Then what if I just rip open this one," he pointed to Airachnid's pod, "have her open Arcee's pod, and then terminate her?"

"No." Optimus said. "I cannot condone the killing of any defenseless lifeform, and we currently lack any means of imprisoning our enemies. To waste what is clearly a humane and efficient containment vessel and execute a prisoner in the process would be intolerable."

"Are you saying to just let your comrade stay like this?" Scourge asked, stunned.

"No." Optimus turned to Ratchet. "Removing Arcee without harming her is our top priority. It would be optimal if the stasis pod itself remained re-useable."

"Very well, Optimus." Ratchet sighed, and swapped out one of his hands for his built in cutter/welder, the other one for his blade, and activated his arm-scanners.

"Now, Rafael," Optimus turned to Scourge, "I have several questions regarding your current status with MECH that have been on my mind."

At that moment, MECH-7 rolled into the base, his car severely scratched, dented, and generally beat up. He hopped out of the car and looked up at Optimus. "I have some good news, some bad news, and some very bad news." He declared, and looked up at Scourge and the two stasis pods. "Looks like today just wasn't our day."

* * *

"OK, so here's the situation." Seven said, pacing the scaffolding after Jack, Miko, and Agent Fowler returned to base. Agent Fowler was less than gleeful about having to be briefed by a terrorist, and his face made no attempt to hide it, continually scowling at MECH-7 and his damaged vehicle on the other side of the room. "After we joined up with Bulkhead, we found out that the location we scouted was actually a Decepticon Energon mine. After a… comedy of errors, all five of us sort of… fell down the shaft, surrounded by Energon boxed and ready for pickup."

"Were there any Vehicons guarding it?" Ratchet asked.

"If there were, we'd be toast, because the fall KO'd Bulkhead… and us." Seven turned his head and winced. "Haven't been in a crash like that since I was 17."

Miko giggled in spite of herself, and stopped after a glare from Optimus.

"Bulkhead came to first, and woke up the rest of us. Turns out the Decepticons didn't actually inspect their shipment, because we were still in the Energon hold, miles in the air, with no communications."

"The Decepticon's Molecular Masking Field, yes." Ratchet nodded. "Continue."

"Right. Well, the first thing we did we tried to do was find the escape pods, except none of us exactly had a map of the place. We did find something better, though." He turned to Scourge. "An old friend of ours, Starscream."

Everybody looked at Scourge.

"Didn't you say you scrapped him?" Miko asked.

"I did." Scourge insisted, replaying a video of the memory on the bottom of Raf's screen.

"He's dead, alright." Raf spoke into the mic. "I'm watching the video now, there's no way he could have survived."

"Whoah, Raf's in there now?" Jack asked, looking up at Scourge. "When did that happen?"

"It's complicated." Raf said, looking back at the empty chamber he was in an the humongous hole in the side. In their rush to medevac Silas, MECH had apparently forgotten all about him. "But basically I'm the new team diplomat."

"Cool!" Miko said, "So are you like… _in_ MECH now? Do they give you cool weapons and stuff?"

"Miko, Raf isn't 'in' MECH." Jack insisted. "He's just our liaison, like Agent Fowler is for the US Government. He's still one of us."

Agent Fowler raised a hand to his mouth, as if he had a thought that he couldn't quite verbalize.

"Well, we could just ask Arcee about Starscream, right?" Miko asked. "She was there wasn't she?"

"I suppose we could, once I find a way to get her out of stasis lock." Ratchet informed. "I am sorry to have not mentioned that earlier, Jack."

"What happened?" Jack frowned. "Airachnid?"

"If it makes you feel better, Airachnid's fate is exactly the same." Scourge smiled, holding out a finger to Jack. "I made sure of that myself."

"But that didn't bring her back, did it?" Jack only scoffed and stepped away from the hand, moving closer to Agent Fowler.

"Do not worry, Jack." Optimus assured him. "Stasis lock is not damaging in any way to Cybertronians. Arcee will be fine. Consider it similar to a coma."

"_Anyway,_" Seven said, trying to get them back on topic. "After some… interrogation from me and Bulkhead, Starscream wouldn't tell us anything, and we couldn't let him go without him raising the alarm. So we escorted him around the ship until we found a communications terminal."

"And that's when you called us?" Raf asked. "What happened during that call?"

"You called MECH, but Bulkhead could not call us?" Ratchet demanded. "And Rafael, why did you not tell us about this message?"

"Well, I told… Arcee." Raf sighed. "Things were hectic, OK?"

"Today just wasn't anybody's day, OK?" Seven agreed, snapping his fingers to resume his story. "So, we got a message out to base, but somebody tripped the ship's alarm systems on us. We think it was Starscream, but considering the guards shot at him, too…"

"Perhaps he was not as welcome as he thought that he was." Optimus deduced.

"Exactly. So there we are, on the run. I had the idea of blasting Starscream in the knees, which distracts the Vehicons long enough for the rest of us to split up with the intent to regroup once we found an exit."

"I assume the 'regroup' part didn't work out." Fowler muttered.

"I wish. We didn't even find an exit." Seven looked down and clenched his fists. "The ship was a maze. We crawled the place. At first we thought about maintaining radio silence, but then we gave up and started just sprinting through the place, taking out guards, going on the war path. That Bulkhead is something else, by the way. He trashed that place like…"

"A rock star in a hotel room?!" Miko offered, excited.

"Like a rock star in a hotel room." Seven nodded. "We almost got caught too, but then someone else decided that it would be that it would be the perfect time to assault the ship from the outside. We didn't know what it was, but we found out soon enough. Guards were running in one direction, which meant that we were running in the opposite."

"Optimus, the Insecticons." Ratchet warned. He turned to Seven. "Please tell me the Insecticons were all terminated, and that none of them chose to defect to Megatron."

"Sorry, but I tend not to lie during mission debriefings." Seven said grimly. "So the bugs are hitting the ship, and hitting it hard. For a while, I was worried that the ship would go down with us in it. But after a few minutes, it stopped, all at once. I thought we were safe, but I was grievously mistaken."

"How many Insecticons were there?" Ratchet asked, clearly feeling a bit faint.

"What's the largest measurement of mass in your vocabulary?" Seven asked.

"The closest translation would be a 'Megaton'."

"A Megaton, then. I'm pretty sure it was the whole swarm."

"Am I to understand that this is the 'very bad news' of which you spoke, Seven?" Optimus asked. "Or is there worse news yet to come?"

"Well… It comes down to what your priorities are, really."

"What happened to Bulkhead?" Miko asked. "You said 'is' and not 'was', didn't you?"

"Right, that's the less-bad news." Seven shrugged. "So we're still split up through the base, and we've gotta be quiet again because the guards are on red alert looking for us, and one by one, I'm losing my squad's signal until it's just me. But then I get a message from Bulkhead, says he's got a something for me to see, so I transform and speed to his location. Turns out Bulkhead didn't find an exit, but he _did_ find their power core."

"Nice!" Miko cheered. "So did you blow it up?"

"We deliberated for a few seconds, but that's basically what we decided on, yeah. We poured everything we had into it, or we would have, anyway, if the creepiest bot I've ever seen didn't show up."

"Soundwave." Jack guessed.

"Well, he didn't say anything, but sure." Seven said. "So luckily, this guy doesn't have any blasters, because he came at me servo to servo. Not-so luckily, he kicked my tailpipe."

"Definitely Soundwave." Bumblebee hummed.

"So I turn and tell Bulkhead to just keep blasting at the power core, while I distracted the… thing. I said my prayers, charged straight at it, and bam, out of nowhere, there's a flash of light and I fall fifty feet and land in the Canadian wilderness."

"One of Soundwave's Ground Bridge tricks, no doubt." Ratchet said. "And that is when you chose to drive here, to us."

"Seven, I ask, what is the good news?" Optimus said after thinking silently.

"The good news is that I can say with certainty that the Decepticon ship is compromised. That power core was ready to blow." Seven clenched a fist. "This is the perfect time to hit them and hit them hard."

"Seven, Perhaps you are not aware, but with Arcee in stasis and Bulkhead still captive aboard the Decepticon vessel, we are not capable yet of mounting the assault that you propose."

"But I know who is!" Agent Fowler declared. "This is the perfect time to call in an airstrike, just give me the coordinates. Uncle Sam'll show them what being a superpower is all about."

"Negative, Agent Fowler. With Bulkhead aboard the vessel, the risk of terminating him is too great for such an indiscriminate method."

"That's why I came to you first, and not MECH." Seven affirmed. "MECH would have immediately dispatched MECH-1 and Scourge to blitz the site. While the opportunity to harvest the ship was enticing, I wanted to make sure Bulkhead and my squad got out first. MECH isn't big on rescue operations. We prefer to bail and re-group before losses mount."

"And what made you choose differently?"

"Nobody deserves to die like that… not even an NBE."

"What is an NBE?"

"A 'Non-Biological Extraterrestrial'." Seven gestured to the three Autobots. "Like you, and the rest of your kind."

"But… we are biological." Ratchet objected.

"Could have fooled us." Seven said, pointing at Scourge. "It took us six months to do with your bodies what humans have been trying to do with our own for six thousand years. When you construct homunculi, let us know."

_As I said._

"We are getting distracted." Scourge interrupted. "The dark one's right. This _is_ the perfect time to attack."

"The dark one?" Agent Fowler questioned.

Seven cleared his throat and turned around.

"If rescuing Bulkhead's the plan, then we need to strike now, while the iron is hot." Scourge continued. "We should use the Ground Bridge, rescue the huntsmen, and clear the area."

"We must not act rashly." Optimus cautioned. "Even if the ship itself is down, the Decepticon army is stronger than ever, and they will no doubt be on high alert."

"They're not getting any weaker." Scourge insisted.

"Time is of the essence here, Optimus." Ratchet noted. "Once the Decepticons repair the ship and reactivate their cloaking system, rescuing Bulkhead becomes a hundred times harder."

"Very well." Optimus announced firmly. "Ratchet, repair Seven's mech-suit. Bumblebee, prepare the Ground Bridge with Seven's co-ordinates. Agent Fowler, alert the military to prepare to strike. We strike in ten minutes. And Rafael?"

"Yes, Optimus?" Raf asked.

"Refrain from notifying MECH of the situation."

_No. Tell MECH to prepare a retrieval team._

Everybody nodded, and moved for their tasks. Jack and Miko stepped forward to the edge of their balcony to get another close look at Scourge.

"So, Raf, what's it like in the MECH base?" Jack asked. "Are they working on any secret plans?"

"Yeah!" Miko smiled, leaning in as if to whisper. "I bet they have all sorts of cool robot tech in there."

Raf looked over his shoulder again. The base had returned to something approaching normal operations. MECH commandos had increased the frequency of their patrols, but they had returned their mech-suits to vehicle mode. "Well, there's not much to tell. They don't exactly take me on tours."

"Do you think they have a chance against the Decepticons like they say they do?" Jack asked.

_Don't answer that._

Raf had to. It was an innocent question and that would be suspicious.

_Are you doing anything that warrants suspicion?_

"I don't know." Raf said, not sure to whom. "They have cool weapons like the mech-suits, and plasma cannons and stuff, but they don't really have that many people. The Decepticons have an army. MECH has a militia."

"So then… they just need better bots like the big guy here?" Miko suggested.

"No, Miko." Jack said, stroking his chin. "Unless they can get something massive to back them up, they won't have a chance to stop the 'Cons. The only thing that can stop the Decepticons is a military. A _real_ military."

"Hold it there, Prime." Fowler said, gesturing Optimus off to the side while Seven and Ratchet were working on their quick-repair of the mech-suit. Scourge cocked his head slightly to listen. "If you're bringing a terrorist with you in a hostage rescue raid on the 'Cons, then it's my job as a representative of the United States to bear witness."

Optimus turned and eyed Scourge, and then Seven.

"I believe that you are right, Agent Fowler."

Raf didn't get to see what happened next, because he was blinded by purple flame from nowhere. He clutched at his head. It was almost as bad as the Unicron headaches. Almost. He blinked. There was no actual light, but he could _feel_ it burning, in the distance. An overwhelming malevolence, simple and implacable.

_Hmm… I see. Megatron grows ever more reliant on my blood. Time is critical here, Rafael._

"Uh, Raf, is Scourge OK?" Miko asked. "He's looking kind of… purple."

"He's… agh." Raf grunted. "Already purple." He piloted scourge to walk to the Ground Bridge and turned to Bumblebee. "Is everybody ready?"

"Optimus, I'm detecting a massive energy spike at the Decepticon crash site." Ratchet declared. "It appears to be Dark Energon."

Wow, he didn't say.

Seven got into his car, transformed up and back, and gave a thumb up out the window.

"Autobots…" Optimus began, and realized that Bumblebee was the only other combat-ready 'bot left. "Autobot and company, roll out!" He transformed and rolled through the portal, with Bumblebee and Seven tailing him, along with Agent Fowler in his sedan.

When they emerged on the other side, the Decepticon ship (it could not have been anything else), was brimming with a glowing purple energy and beginning to lift itself out of the ground.

"How are we supposed to get on it?" Seven asked.

"Quickly!" Scourge shouted, performing a mid-air jump transformation and blasting towards the ship as it cleared the ground, exposing the autocannons underneath. Six of them immediately swiveled to target Scourge while a dozen or more others targeted the land-bound attackers. Scourge quickly dove underneath the ship, out of the rotation range of the cannons, searching for any kind of entrance, not finding one, he pulled up on the other side and hugged the surface, jetting past the bridge and doubling back to the bottom and racing towards the stern. As soon as he flew up behind the thrusters, the chase cannons deployed and began firing even larger blasts at him. Scourge began dodging out of their way with many shots getting too close for comfort even from Raf's perspective.

As soon as Scourge caught sight of the landing deck, a new weapon spring up and began firing white beams at the Autobots struggling to climb the side of the ship. The first one hit Bumblebee, and he lost his grip immediately, crashing the ground below, limp.

It fired a second time, this time at Optimus, but the Prime jumped out of the way and continued climbing upwards. The beam fired again, hitting its mark this time, and Optimus too fell off of the ascending ship.

Seven's mech struggled and made it over the edge of the platform, and attempted to lift itself to its feet when another dish deployed and fired at him, arcing energy through its body and locking it in place.

Scourge quickly, without thinking, reached out with his claws and shoved his hand into the mech's chest cavity, pulling out Seven before his mech fell the rest of the way to the ground, exploding on impact. Scourge was just setting the human down when the dish targeted Scourge and blasted him. Raf's control panel sparked with energy, jolting his hand, and Scourge froze up, falling back over the edge of the ship, away from Seven who reflexively reached out as if to catch the multi-ton robot. Raf saw the Decepticon ship fade further out of view until Scourge slammed into the ground. His transmission scrambled, filled with static, and ultimately cut.

* * *

"Team's down," Agent Fowler reported, "requesting medevac."

Raf slammed his fist on the table. They were so close!

_The ship speaks. Listen._

Raf's eyes widened as Unicron's flame flooded his eyes and ears. He was looking in a room, filled with screens and Decepticons, including Megatron, Soundwave, Knockout, and Dreadwing.

"_There! That is the interloper that has been attacking our energon mines, and another one of those pathetic human battle-suits. Guide us closer, so that I may collect it and send the insects a message of my own."_

Yep, that was Megatron.

_CO-ORDINATES DECODED._

That was a new one, and nobody seemed to have heard it save for him.

"_What?! Where are you going?!"_ Megatron demanded. _"I said closer!"_

"_Lord Megatron, the ship seems to be navigating itself."_ A Vehicon reported.

"_Override."_

_UNAUTHORIZED MISSION INTERFERENCE. NEUTRALIZING._

"_The systems are bypassing manual controhhh!" _The Vehicon shrieked as power coursed through him, and he collapsed.

"_It appears the ship now possesses a will of its own."_ Knockout deduced.

"_Impossible! Trace the problem to its source and fix it!"_ Megatron ordered.

"_DO NOT TAMPER WITH MY SYSTEMS. THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY WARNING."_

Well, they heard that.

"_Warning?!"_

"_MY MISSION ASSUMES PRIORITY. ANY CYBERTRONIAN WHO INTERFERES WILL BE NEUTRALIZED."_

"_My own vessel dares to address me in threatening tones?!"_

Knockout inspected one of the screens. _"It also seems to be doing a better job of decoding the Project Iacon Database than we were."_

"_As I desire…" _Megatron muttered. _"You see, this warship is nothing more than an extension of my will." _He announced to the crew on the bridge. They seemed less than convinced.

"_YOUR WILL IS NOTHING. THE IACON ARTIFACT WILL BELONG TO ME."_

"_I am Lord Megatron!" _He protested, shouting at the screens and the ceiling. _"I command you to cease operations!"_

"_YOU ARE NO LONGER IN COMMAND."_

_DARK ENERGON DETECTED IN SYSTEMS. UTILIZING._

Megatron dropped to the ground clutching his head in pain. In a moment, Raf felt it too, weaker, but still enough to make him wince.

"_Regain control of this vessel by any means necessary." _Megatron ordered soon after recovering.

Soundwave nodded and plugged both of his chest tentacles into a terminal.

_TAMPERING DETECTED... AGAIN._

A shock coursed through the tentacles, jolting Soundwave until he stood limp.

"_All hands, cut power to the mainframe and disconnect data relays now!"_ Megatron ordered. Dreadwing, Knockout, and the rest of the Vehicons sprinted out of the Bridge, and Knockout split from the group.

_NEUTRALIZING._

Bad call. The ship's hallways were soon scoured by white meshes of energy that jolted and paralyzed any bots in its path.

Raf's vision was interrupted when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see the scientist looking down at him.

"What have you done to Scourge?" He demanded, his voice rising slightly from his usual dispassionate tone.

"Nothing!" Raf said, slightly startled.

"Sure doesn't look like nothing. What happened to the feed?"

"Umm… He got hit."

"Kid, I left you alone for… an hour, maybe! How did you manage to let MECH's number one project become a field casualty?!"

_Scourge lives._

"Scourge is fine!" Raf retorted, realizing too late that he had no way to prove it. "He's just…"

"I've never encountered this form of stasis lock." Ratchet's voice said, garbled, from the computer.

"Is that an Autobot?" The Scientist asked.

"The 'cons are crossing the Atlantic, making a beeline for North America." Fowler's voice reported.

"Is that _Agent Fowler?_ With _our_ robot?! Where _is_ he?"

"In… the Autobot base?"

"Out of the chair." He ordered. "Boy, out of the chair, now."

"What?! No! He's in the middle of an important mission!"

"Maybe so," he said, lifting Raf out of the seat and dropping him into the sidecar, "but you're not in command anymore."

"But Silas put me in charge of Scourge!" Raf protested.

"Silas has suffered massive organ damage outside the reach of conventional medicine, which makes me the acting leader. And as of now, twelve year olds are no longer allowed to pilot our robots."

"This doesn't make a lick of sense," Fowler continued. "They had us in their cross hairs, but the 'Cons just took off."

"And they still have that 'Seven' guy now." Miko added.

"The Decepticons have MECH-7?" the Scientist growled. "What did you _do?!_"

"It's not my fault!" Raf insisted. "Bulkhead and his squad were trapped aboard the Decepticon ship! He had to go back with the Autobots and rescue them!"

"He went on a _rescue mission_ for an _NBE?!_" the Scientist massaged his temples. "Kid, just wait 'til Silas hears about this."

"Wait, I thought you said his injuries were outside the range of conventional medicine?"

"MECH is anything but conventional." The Scientist answered, and opened up the communicator. "MECH-7, this is Surgeon, do you copy?"

"Uh… surprisingly, yes." Seven answered after a second.

"What is your current status?"

"Unarmed and unarmored aboard the Decepticon warship."

"Your little unauthorized rescue mission didn't pan out, huh?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny that the mission resulted in abject failure."

"Well you have a new mission now. Escape from the ship and return immediately to base. I'm dispatching MECH-1 to your location now."

"Wait," Raf asked, "you're tracking the ship's location? Shouldn't it be cloaked?"

"Yeah, this ship makes even less sense than the first time." Seven noted. "I'm literally wandering the hallways unharmed. Every 'Con in this place is offline. There's zero security to speak of. I'm going to see how my squad is."

"And Bulkhead?"

Seven paused and sighed. "I… yes, and Bulkhead."

"Perhaps you need to be refreshed as to our operating procedures. We do not remain on the scene. We definitely do not return to a scene. We cut losses to maximize gains."

"You want to talk about maximizing gains, _'sir'?_ I have free reign of the largest repository of alien military technology we've ever seen or will see. I am in a position to have an Autobot owe me his life. And I can check to see just how much information the Decepticons have on us."

The Scientist stroked his chin. "Very well. Don't expect backup."

"Whoah!" Seven muttered.

"Yes?"

"I just so happened to arrive at what looks like the main data relay," he whispered, "listen:"

"Lord Megatron, the computer has decrypted a second set of co-ordinates." Knockout could be heard saying. "Perhaps we should permit it to continue."

There was a zap.

"I DO NOT REQUIRE PERMISSION."

"I think these aliens have managed to create a rogue AI…" Seven whispered.

"Don't be ridiculous, they _are_ rogue AI."

"Actually, Ratchet says that they're biological in nature." Seven corrected.

"Could have fooled me."

"That's what I said." Seven was silent, and then grunting was heard.

"What are you doing?"

"Climbing the red one." Seven reported. "I wanted a better look at the console."

A faint ringing sounded over the comm.

"What's that?"

"I'm not sure. I think the ship is getting a call."

"Autobot Outpost Omega One to Decepticon Warship." Ratchet's voice said. "Come in, Decepticon Warship. Megatron, please respond."

"Should I respond?" Seven asked.

"Do you even know how to answer their communicator?" The Scientist questioned.

"Well, Megatron's kind of busy." Seven said, over the sound of loud stomping going by.

"This mutiny ends now!" The warlord shouted distantly.

Another zap.

"Megatron." Ratchet repeated.

"MEGATRON HAS BEEN RELIEVED OF HIS COMMAND."

"Who is this?"

"WHO IS THIS?"

"Have you taken control of the Decepticon vessel?"

"I AM THE VESSEL. ANY CYBERTRONIAN WHO INTERFERES WILL BE NEUTRALIZED."

"What mission?"

"PRIORITY ONE: DECRYPT IACON DATABASE AND RECOVER DECEPTICON TECHNOLOGY."

"For what purpose?"

The ship hung up.

_Rude._

"Interesting," the Scientist mused, "so there is, at this moment, a giant spaceship flying around looking for Decepticon Weapons of Mass Destruction. Seven, see about downloading this 'Iacon Database'."

"Wait," Raf interrupted, "only Optimus Prime can decode it."

"And, evidently, so can the ship. Get the files, we'll work on decoding after that."

"This thing doesn't exactly take USB, sir."

"Figure something out." The scientist ordered. "Time isn't of the essence here."

"What about the prisoners?"

"Oh, yeah. Get them, too."

"Roger that... You know, the Autobots might have a compatible transfer drive."

"One, that would compromise operational security. Two, I highly doubt that they would share one with us."

"True, but they might share one with Rafael, and if they don't, well, that's what Scourge is for."

"You know what? I'll allow it."

"MECH-7 to Autobot Outpost Omega One. Ratchet, do you copy?" Seven asked.

"Yes, Seven, is that you?" Ratchet answered. He could be heard clearly, since the communication was now being patched directly to them.

"The one and only. I am aboard the Decepticon vessel, and I need an assist."

"Really? We had assumed that the ship may have been blind to humans." Ratchet responded. "Do you need pickup?"

"Yes, but not yet. This ship is decrypting something called an 'Iacon Database', and I just figured that now would be the perfect time to download it."

"Yes… that's right! I'll infiltrate the ship momentarily."

"Negative. The ship's security would paralyze you, like the others."

"So then what do you suggest?"

"Send the kids?"

Ratchet actually laughed for a good fifteen seconds. "You want me to send the kids aboard a Decepticon warship alone with Decepticons?"

"And terrorists!" Agent Fowler added, clearly frustrated that people were forgetting about that.

"OK, then. Guess I'll just wander this treasure trove of alien technology by myself." Seven teased. "Wow, I might not even have time to rescue Bulkhead... Shame."

"Agent Fowler and the children will be aboard the ship momentarily." Ratchet sighed.

"Don't forget to bring a set of transfer drives."

"Yep, yep." Ratchet interrupted. "One will be sufficient for us. And I highly doubt MECH has a compatible computer anyway."

Seven didn't answer, and heard the Ground Bridge portal opened a moment later.

"Fowler to base," he reported, "we're in."

"Good, their data core should be accessible from any console."

"Over here!" Seven shouted.

"Whoah!" Miko could be heard shouting. "Doc Knock is knocked out!"

"Yeah," Seven said, "And the ship was kind enough to decode two, no, three sets of coordinates for us."

"I'm coming up." Fowler declared.

"Why? Just toss me the drive."

"Fat chance." He argued as he began straining to climb Knockout. "OK, the drive's in."

"Uh, why is the warship heading for Manhattan?" Jack asked.

"That's probably where the first set of co-ordinates are." The Scientist suggested.

"What would a relic from Cybertron be doing in the Big Apple?" Fowler asked.

"The Iacon Relics landed on Earth eons ago, Agent Fowler," Ratchet explained. "long before the city was built atop it."

"Which means that if the ship wants this one," Jack realized, "it may have to move some buildings out of the way."

"Our mission just got complicated." Fowler declared. "How do we deter this ship?"

"I would suggest disabling the navigation module. Call up the main navigation menu."

"Seven, now would be the time to continue with your rescue mission." The Scientist suggested.

"Got it." Seven replied. A few seconds later, he laughed as a thump could be heard beside him.

"What happened?" the Scientist asked.

"The keyboard tazed Fowler."

The Scientist laughed too. "OK, where are they likely to be?"

"More than likely, Knock-Out's interrogation room." Seven reported as he began running down the hallway.

"SYSTEM ACCESS DETECTED. INTERFERENCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED."

"Move fast." The scientist warned.

"REVEAL YOURSELF."

"Hah, yeah, OK." Seven said as he continued to search. "The ship doesn't see me." He laughed. "Have the Decepticons never encountered carbon-based life before us?"

"That's actually somewhat disturbing." The Scientist noted. "Maybe we really are alone in the universe, after all."

_More than you can imagine._

"You're not _alone,_" Ratchet repeated, "the galaxy has several other mechanical life-forms, on other far flung planets."

"But none like us?"

"No," Ratchet said, contemptuously, "none like you."

"Guys, we need to focus," Jack insisted, "millions of lives are at stake now, and we're the only ones who can do anything about it."

"Jack, this is too much!" Ratchet argued. "These readings, the ship's rapid recovery all point to the fact that Megatron employed Dark Energon to repair it."

"Hold on, if you're saying the ship is fueled by Dark Energon, we can dump it, right?"

"Hmm… You'll need to reverse the warship's energon infuser. Follow the main overhead conduits, they'll lead you to the power core."

"Base, I found Knock-Out's lab." Seven announced.

"And what is everybody's status?"

"Wow, um… I see Starscream."

"And? Is he in stasis lock?"

"Uh, no… It's safe to say he's been terminated. He's in more pieces than Breakdown."

"Hey… Hey, Seven! Is that you?!" Bulkhead asked him.

"Is that Bulkhead?" Miko asked.

"Yeah, it's Bulkhead." Seven confirmed. "He's uh… not looking too good either."

"I'm... urgh… fine," he insisted. "What's going on out there?"

"The ship mutinied." Seven explained. "Don't leave this room though, unless you want your circuits sizzled."

Bulkhead groaned in both pain and disappointment. "And here I was ready to start busting Deceptichops."

"To clarify for those listening, my team is also strapped to the tables next to Bulkhead." Seven noted. "Now, how do I get you guys out?"

"The squad's fine. Just out cold." Bulkhead explained. "There's a release switch on the table over there."

Another few seconds.

"Done." Seven announced.

"Good," Bulkhead grunted, "now to, whoah!"

A huge slam echoed through the speakers.

"What was that?" the Scientist demanded.

"Bulkhead's having issues walking." Seven said. "We're gonna have to tow him."

Bulkhead strained, and transformed.

Power hummed and three more mechs could be heard activating.

"Sir… we're alive?" one of the commandos questioned.

"Apparently that's debatable." The Scientist sneered over the mic. "One of you, hitch up to him and prepare to roll out."

"Got it," one answered, and transformed as well, "Sir, you may want to grab a weapon from the trunk."

Raf heard a trunk open.

"You have a lot of explosives in here, Agent…" Seven said.

"Yeah, I do…"

"What say you we thank the Decepticons for their hospitality?"

"You guys would love Wheeljack." Bulkhead noted.

"Yeah, We're gonna be a while." Seven said, no doubt affixing explosives around the room. "Two, Six, go see about assisting the others in the generator room. Follow the power conduits."

"Affirmative." The other commandos said in unison, transformed, and sped off away from Seven.

"How are things on your end, Jack and Miko?" Ratchet asked.

"Looks like Megatron had the same idea." Jack answered.

"The energon injection valve can only be operated manually." Ratchet instructed.

"That's gonna be a problem," Miko said, "There's about seventy metric tons of big bad holding the lever in place."

"Give me a boost." Jack requested, and began climbing Megatron.

"OK, Megatron's hand is pretty strong." Jack said. "I'm going to need a wedge or something to-"

"I AM INFESTED WITH ALIEN LIFEFORMS."

"That's bad." Miko understated.

"ALL PARASITES WILL BE ERADICATED."

"Miko, run!" Jack shouted.

"Coming from behind!" a commando shouted suddenly, and there was a huge crashing sound.

"Got the kid!" the other one announced.

"What just happened?" Ratchet asked.

"The MECHs just body checked Megatron!" Miko cheered. "And they got the lever!"

Raf could feel a difference. The persistent malevolence was fading, fast.

"CRITICAL POWER DRAIN. I AM… IN… COMMAND…"

It was just an ember now.

"PREPARE TO BE… NEUTRALIZED."

A low groan could be heard.

"Megatron's waking up." One of the commandos relayed, and transformed. "Get in."

He sped back away, and soon the other one did the same.

"Seven, are you done yet?!" Raf asked, urgently.

"Just about." He answered over the sound of welding in the background. "We're on our way."

Thirty seconds later, Jack told Ratchet to fire up the Ground Bridge.

"Wait, we gotta pick up Agent Fowler!" Miko shouted.

"Do we _have to?_" Seven asked.

"Yes!" everyone replied except for the Scientist.

"Fine. I got him in Bulkhead." Seven said a second later.

Another beep.

"That's all that downloaded?" Jack asked.

"Just four co-ordinates…" Miko said. "Just how big is this file?"

"Doesn't matter, let's just take what we can get!" Seven said. A transformation happened, metal hit metal, and then they all left through the Ground Bridge. Raf saw them arrive as the Scourge feed resumed.

The car that was towing Bulkhead transformed up, holding the transfer drive.

"You know, as enlightening as this joint mission was, I _did_ violate protocol by doing it." Seven sighed. "I think something like this would be just the thing to bring back to base to get back into Silas's good graces."

"Seriously?" Bulkhead asked. "Now?"

"Would another time have been preferable, Bulkhead?" Seven asked.

"Seven. This is not the time for treachery." Optimus warned "Megatron possesses the same four sets of co-ordinates, and he will not hesitate to obtain the potential doomsday devices which lie at the site of each."

"Treachery?" Seven asked, feigning hurt. "I would never betray our allies like that. I was just letting you know that between rescuing Bulkhead and giving you this drive, you seriously owe us." He handed the drive to Ratchet, who quickly snatched it out of his servos.

Scourge slowly pushed himself up and looked at the screen, taking a snapshot of the locations displayed, and sending it back to MECH's base.

"Thank you, Scourge…" the Scientist muttered.

"We are now faced with a problem. If we are to have any hope of recovering the Iacon relics before the Decepticons do, we must divide our resources." Optimus stated, surveying the group. "Swiftness of action is paramount."

"But Optimus," Ratchet lamented, "we were already at a grave numbers disadvantage, but Arcee is now in stasis, and I haven't even had time to examine what those monsters did to Bulkhead, if he had to be towed here…"

"So now it is down to you, Bumblebee, and me."

"And Wheeljack!" Bulkhead chimed in.

"And Wheeljack." Ratchet sighed. "We are not exactly operating at maximum efficiency here. As it is now, we would have to send just one of us to each relic, and with Raf at MECH's base, and Agent Fowler unconscious, we would have nobody to manage the Ground Bridge."

"We could help." Seven offered. "Between my recon team, Scourge, and MECH-1's Sweeps, I'm sure we could make for good backup."

"I'd be happy to aid your hunt." Scourge agreed.

"MECH-1 will standby." The Scientist spoke through the Scourge mic.

"Optimus…" Ratchet began.

"Ratchet, you said yourself, we cannot afford to be discriminating."

"I said no such thing!"

"You kind of did." Jack noted.

Ratchet just shook his head and muttered under his breath.

"First things first." Seven added. "Can you bridge us back to base for a minute so that we can resupply and I can get a new suit?"

"And just where would this base of yours be?" Ratchet asked.

"Don't act like you haven't already been tracing our communications, doctor."

Ratchet scowled at him, and pulled the Ground Bridge lever, and a portal opened in the chamber directly beside Raf.

"Rafael has been awfully quiet, lately." Ratchet noted, inspecting the portal. "Perhaps I should check up on him…"

"I'm fine, Ratchet, everything's cool." Raf replied.

"Good. I would hate to find out that something had happened to you under MECH's watch."

"Nothing's going to happen to him." Seven repeated, the offense in his tone standing out from his usual calm. The three cars drove through the portal and pulled next to the Scientist.

"So," The Scientist began, once everybody showed up back at base twenty minutes later, including MECH-7 in a new car, and MECH-1's squadron, "Scourge seems to be completely repaired."

"Yes, I am." Scourge replied, inspecting his body, whose metal had completely stitched back together, sans paint. "It is most unusual."

"And are you mission ready?"

"Of course."

"And you, MECH-1?"

"Ready to fly." The mech in front replied.

"And you, MECH-7. _Both_ factions of NBE's have the coordinates now, thanks to you."

"If not for me, only the Decepticons would have them." Seven pointed out.

"That is true." The Scientist scratched his chin. "And Scourge's quick thinking means that we have the coordinates _and_ the element of surprise against the Decepticons."

Scourge nodded.

"Oh, and sir, I also brought something else you might be interested in." Seven pointed at the other members of his fireteam. The three of them popped the trunks of their cars.

Raf and the Scientist approached them and looked inside. Unicron's flame roared and pushed against his skin, compelling him to touch the contents.

Within each of the three trunks, glowing purple with raw chaotic energy, was a crate filled with pure Dark Energon.

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos:**

-Re: Stinky Cheese

-Everybody was kung fu fighting.

-Look I'm just saying that I think humans and robots have clear differences that the Quintesson establishment doesn't want us to talk about.

* * *

AN: Next chapter releases in a week. Reviews are more than welcome.

Uh... I feel like I had something else to say. Don't remember, but I'll edit this space once I do.


	10. Spread Thin

_(On how he beat the shrike-bats of Dromedon)"I'm trying to remember, there were an awful lot of casualties that day..."_

\- Kup, Primax Cluster

* * *

"Seven really pulled through today, I have to admit." The Scientist grinned as the technicians carried the last crate out of the room. "Given the properties that this 'Dark Energon' has demonstrated on Scourge and our old equipment, MECH has once again widened the gap."

"Are you all prepared now?" Ratchet asked once Seven's team returned through the portal with Scourge, and Seven's new identical battlesuit. "Do you need snacks? Or perhaps you still require the use of the facilities?"

"No thanks," Seven said, holding a hand in front of Scourge, "but thank you for caring about us, Doc."

"Don't call me 'Doc'." Ratchet grumbled, and turned back to his screen. "Here's a twist. It would appear that the Decepticons have retreated from Manhattan."

"It would stand to reason that Megatron has already set course for the second set of coordinates," Optimus proposed, "having dispatched a unit to this relic's underground location."

"They're probably using subway tunnels." Jack suggested, "New York has a whole network of them running beneath the city."

"Since the human population no longer seems to be directly threatened, maintaining our disguise will be necessary." Optimus turned to Bee and Seven. "Bumblebee, you are the best choice to navigate through such a densely populated area. Arcee would have been useful in this situation as well, but with her in stasis, we will have to rely on MECH-7's clandestine skills."

"Have you guys had any progress in getting her out of there safely?" Jack asked.

"Unfortunately, we have not." Ratchet sighed. "But I am doing my best with the limited time I have."

"I understand. And Optimus, New York has more than 8 million people. The odds of being spotted by at least one of them are pretty high, even if they are headed underground."

"And?" Seven shrugged. "We've been infiltrating urban settings for years, kid."

"You're gonna need a face man."

Optimus stared at him blankly.

"Someone who can speak on their behalf." Jack explained. "A human who can run interference if their cover gets blown. I'm not sure I want to know what MECH does to inconvenient witnesses."

The Scientist whistled nonchalantly.

"Well, I've actually been in subway stations." Miko volunteered. "I grew up in a major metropolis, unlike Mr. 'I've-never-been-outside-Jasper-Nevada'."

"I have been to Cybertron." Jack offered.

"Cybertron doesn't have subways… Does it?"

"Agent Fowler's field experience makes him our best candidate." Optimus proposed.

"Banana fish!" The agent agreed.

"If he weren't still recovering for his encounter with the Decepticon warship." Ratchet sighed. "But I don't think we should trust the safety of the children to these… _humans_."

"Uh…" Miko began.

"They'll be fine," Seven teased, "Bee here will keep them safe from the big, bad, cyber-terrorists."

"Actually," the Scientist corrected, "we're more like mecha-terrrorists."

"Very well." Optimus decided. "Miko and Jack will accompany Seven and Bumblebee."

"Yes!" Miko cheered, climbing down the ladder to get into Bumblebee.

"Initiate transport, and triangulate coordinates of the other three relics." Optimus ordered.

"You get better, OK, Bulk?" Miko said, placing a hand on Bulkhead's grille. "I'll tell you all about the city when we get back."

"Take care of her, Bee." Bulkhead called out as they drove through the Ground Bridge.

"Now, Scourge, contact your hunstmen." Optimus instructed. "They will be joining Wheeljack at the Equator."

"You're gonna need to be more specific than that, Prime."

Optimus pointed to the map, and Scourge placed a finger to his ear. "Sweeps, converge at the coordinates I'm transmitting. Look for Wheeljack."

"Rafael, Bulkhead, and Agent Fowler will be your communications and transportation hubs." Optimus continued.

"I can! That's cheeseburger!" Agent Fowler concurred.

"Riiiight…" Scourge agreed.

"Bulkhead, lock on to the remaining coordinates, I will embark for the Antarctic." Optimus turned to Ratchet. "As for you, old friend, I would prefer that you have company on your mission."

"No one is left to join me, Optimus." Ratchet noted. "Even if Agent Fowler were alert… He's human."

"I was considering the non-Autobot alternative." Optimus stated, gesturing to Scourge.

"But you can't be serious!" Ratchet protested. "Scourge is a monster, an abomination!"

"I'm right here." Scourge said flatly.

"Your expertise is scientific," Optimus insisted, "but Scourge is a highly capable warrior. You would be wise to welcome the temporary alliance."

"Ugh. Fine." Ratchet sighed, activating the Ground Bridge for Optimus. Once Optimus was through, he changed the coordinates and walked through with Scourge.

* * *

"Your boss made a good call," Scourge mused as he walked beside Ratchet through the woods. "What fun is a hunt like this without a squire to tag along?"

"If you must know, _I_ am the one here to guide _you_, not the other way around," Ratchet said pointedly. "And hunters don't have squires, knights do."

"Heh. The more you know." Scourge made a rainbow motion with his hands. "But don't worry about guiding me. I've been tracking targets since I was born."

"You think you were born?" Ratchet laughed. "You were built! You're not even six months old! You're just… a crude simulacrum of life, manufactured in a laboratory by mad scientists playing at godhood."

"Maybe, but I feel real enough." Scourge boasted, patting Ratchet's back and making him stumble.

Ratchet groaned. "OK then, Pinocchio, why don't you survey the area from the skies? See if there are any Decepticons nearby."

"Whatever you say." Scourge grinned, and transformed in the air. He took flight, circling the area repeatedly, his eye catching a small rock plateau. "If our mark is underground, I think I know just where it might be."

"On my way," Ratchet said. "Try not to break it if you find it."

"I'll have you know that I'm a master of precision and-" Scourge was rocked by an explosion. "Graagh! What was _that?!_"

"It looks like… Soundwave!" Ratchet announced, panicked. "You need to get out of there before he shoots you down!"

"I don't run." Scourge said simply before pulling upwards as if to loop around behind the flying robot assassin. Soundwave slowed down in anticipation of the move, but Scourge flipped around in another mid-air transformation, dropping down and latching onto him.

Soundwave immediately began rolling and banking in an attempt to throw off the robot over a dozen times its weight. Scourge held on with his claws and began flailing his other arm in an attempt to strike at the drone's undercarriage. Each swipe failed to hit its mark as Soundwave twisted and turned to avoid each one even as they both plummeted.

When it became clear that neither was going to achieve the upper hand, another, smaller drone detached from Soundwave, dipping down behind them and beginning to fire its lasers at Scourge.

"Wait, what?" Scourge asked, confused.

"Laserbeak, Soundwave's surveillance drone." Ratchet explained.

"Well, whatever it is, it's hunting _me!_"

"Then shoot it! Or let go, bail out!"

"I can't!"

"You can't bail out?"

"No, I can't shoot it!" Scourge growled, and pointed at his eyes (and by extension, at the Scientist) "I don't have a gun!"

Soundwave stopped twisting for a moment and Laserbeak steadied itself, and began pouring even more blaster fire at Scourge. Scourge grunted to pull himself up, spreading his wings to their full breadth, and leapt off of Soundwave, stretching out a claw in an attempt to grab at the metal bird. He managed to get a grip, tightening his hands and slightly crushing the fuselage, but if Soundwave struggled to hold Scourge up, Laserbeak didn't try at all. The two of them began plummeting, while Soundwave corrected his flight pattern and continued to soar towards the plateau.

"Ratchet, I'm preparing for landing." Scourge said as he hugged Laserbeak tightly to his body, audibly stressing the metal. In a practiced motion, Scourge descended the remaining distance on his wings and achieved a perfect landing in a small clearing.

"I suppose you'll want to mount it on your wall?" Ratchet mocked as he stepped out of the trees.

"We actually would want that." The Scientist pointed out. "We could get some good information out of it if our boys could take him apart."

"No." Ratchet said firmly. "Soundwave is no ordinary Cybertronian, inside or out, but MECH has done quite enough with our bodies."

"Perhaps we can exchange him for the relic we seek?" Scourge suggested.

"Decepticons don't do ransoms." Ratchet muttered grimly as he inspected Laserbeak's somewhat mangled form. "Not even Soundwave for his pets."

"He has more?"

"He had more."

"What happened?"

"I don't know."

They were both silent for a moment.

"Well, Laserbeak is functional, at the last." Ratchet announced. "Barely. His sensory apparatus is offline, and it looks like you destroyed his weapon systems."

"So, then why don't we just leave him as bait, and when Soundwave comes to retrieve him, we pounce and take the relic?"

"An interesting proposal," Ratchet stroked his chin. "But why settle for brute force when there is potential for a more devastating trap?"

"I'm listening…" The Scientist said, leaning forward in his seat.

"A virus," Ratchet grinned, swapping his hand for his multitool and running it over Laserbeak, "engineered to pass from Laserbeak to Soundwave, then directly into the warship's mainframe, where it will transmit the content of the entire Iacon database to us."

_Ingenious._

"Raphael, I can only hope that you're still listening. If you could write a source code for the virus, my scanner will translate it to Cybertronian script as it uploads."

"I can do it," Raf said, pulling out his laptop, "but if you wanna keep the virus in from the 'Cons, you'll need a decoy, you know, like a second virus".

"On it." The Scientist said, and opened up his own screen. "Heck, maybe they won't find either, then we'll be in for a real treat."

Scourge nodded and turned away.

"And where are you off to?" Ratchet demanded.

"To buy you some time, and settle scores. I fell for his tricks once, it won't happen again." With that, Scourge blasted off in the direction of the plateau.

As soon as he acquired a visual on Soundwave, he angled himself into a dive behind him. One he picked up enough speed, he transformed, planting both feet firmly in the spy's backside at mach 1.5.

Soundwave stumbled forward from the impact, dropping whatever it was he was holding off of the plateau while his torso stuck out over the edge.

"You lost sight of your quarry. You really should be more careful."

Scourge roared and ran forward, preparing to stomp on him from behind. Soundwave quickly flipped over and pulled his legs back from Scourge's feet, supporting his entire body weight with his tiny fingers. When the impact crushed the rock, Soundwave quickly drove his legs forward into Scourge's shin, bringing him onto his knees. Soundwave seized the moment and stood up, now at eye level with Scourge, and drove his fist into his face.

Scourge reeled from the impact, and Soundwave placed both hands on his shoulders, jumped over him, and lifted Scourge completely off of the ground and threw him across the plateau.

"Be more careful." Soundwave repeated back in Scourge's voice.

Scourge stood up and wiped his face, dropping into a fighting stance, and charged at Soundwave again. Soundwave twirled, yes, twirled, out of the way as Scourge tackled him, but instead of continuing to roll, Scourge stayed on his hands and whirled into a spinning kick that caught Soundwave directly in the side of the faceplate.

Soundwave nodded as if to confirm that that had just happened, and then immediately let loose his two tentacles, lashing them both out at Scourge, who caught them both just inches from his face. He was rewarded for his quick reaction time with several direct hits to his unguarded stomach. Scourge growled and swung the tentacles around, jerking Soundwave into the air, and slammed him into the ground before yanking them towards him, catching Soundwave's face with his fist.

Soundwave stepped back and partially retracted the tendrils, pulling them out of Scourge's hands. The two of them circled each other slowly.

"I haven't experienced this kind of thrill before in my life." Scourge stated.

"You're not even six months old!" Soundwave broadcasted.

"Maybe so, but then your troops have been slaughtered in droves by an infant."

Soundwave shrugged.

Scourge smiled again and charged right back into the fight.

"Raphael, I'm ejecting Laserbeak's main uplink transmitter." Ratchet announced. "When you're ready I will bring its operating system back online in order to receive the transfer."

"Base, we can't find any sight of the relic." Wheeljack radioed in, "Can you reconfirm coordinates?"

"Agh. Triangulating your position, Wheeljack." Raf sighed, quickly checking the signal. "You're at the correct location."

"Then the coordinates are wrong, 'cause there is nothing here." Wheeljack insisted. "But something's coming."

"Can you and the Sweeps handle it?"

"Only one way to find out."

When Raf looked back at the screen, Scourge had Soundwave in a bear hug and the two of them had fallen off of the edge. When they hit the ground, Scourge straddled Soundwave's waist, grabbing his tentacles with one hand and frantically pounding at his chest and face with the other.

Soundwave blocked the last blow with his hands, flung Scourge off of him with the tentacles, and pounded him in the chest again for good measure.

Scourge lifted himself to his feet as Soundwave struggled to do the same. The two of them looked at the ground between them, and equidistant from the two of them was a small device, the relic they sought. Immediately, they both darted for it, but Scourge was just a little bit faster, and managed to snag it.

He inspected it in his hands, and pointed it at Soundwave. "Don't suppose you have any last words of your own before I slay you?"

Soundwave didn't respond.

"Ratchet, the viruses are coded." Raf reported. "Commencing upload."

Soundwave's visor immediately displayed Laserbeak's distress frequency, and he quickly swept Scourge's legs with his tentacles and blasted off without even trying to take the item.

"Raf, we have a bead on the relic." Wheeljack said.

"Raf is busy, I'll take it from here." Agent Fowler said over the radio.

"Hey, I recognize that voice!" Wheeljack laughed. "It's the tiny who thought I should be put on a tighter leash!"

"Still do."

"Keep dreaming. What's your status?"

"Came up empty to provided coordinates. But I'm figuring old lava flow might have carried relic downhill. We're sweeping the location. Sure is nice to have some actually useful humans to boss around. Makes my job a whole lot easier."

"Wouldn't the lava just burn it up?"

"This is Cybertronian engineering here, built to survive interstellar transport, I highly doubt that molten rock would… scrap."

"What is it?"

"I'm leaking Energon. Dreadwing hit me hard."

"Dreadwing?"

"The weirdo who likes explosions and honor, nothing to worry about."

"Trust me, he's in way worse shape us. He was going on about 'an honorable duel to settle old scores', and then the Sweeps shot him in the back."

"Ha!" the Scientist shouted in spite of himself.

"Raphael, what is our progress?" Ratchet asked.

"Fifty percent. And Scourge has the relic, but let Soundwave escape."

"What?! Why? How long do I have?"

"Well, I don't even know what this does." Scourge chuckled as he stowed it in his chest and radioed Ratchet. "So I'd say you have about two minutes."

"Hey hey! They found something!" Wheeljack laughed. "You guys aren't useless after all!" He grunted with effort. "Whoever gets this thing out of the rock will be the next king of England."

"What?" Fowler asked.

"The container is embedded in the stone." Wheeljack explained. "Just got the lid off though… Base, we have a problem."

"Wheeljack, what is it?"

"So, we found the relic. It's a cache of Energon."

"That's good, right?"

"Not this kind. It's Tox-En. Causes nausea and dizziness on contact. Prolonged exposure weakens us to the point of paralysis, and then it snuffs out our sparks."

"Base to MECH-1, confirm effects on battlesuits?" The Scientist requested.

"MECH-1 to base. It's not doing anything to us. It does smell awful, though."

"Well, what do you talking to me for?" Fowler asked. "Get far away from that Tox-En. Throttle. If it's as deadly as you say, the 'Cons won't want it either."

"Oh yes, they will." The Scientist said. "This stuff's a WMD waiting to happen."

"Exactly." Wheeljack explained. "During the war for Cybertron Megatron figured out a way to refine raw Tox-En turning it to a bioweapon. Bulkhead witnessed entire units wiped out by the sickness. No way I can leave this stuff for 'Cons to find and abuse."

"So bring it back here." Fowler suggested. "I'll open a ground bridge."

"Forget it. Even if you had a safe place to store it, the stuff's way too potently risky to exposing the rest of the team."

"Then bring it to us." The Scientist suggested. "We'll lock it down."

"Absolutely not." Fowler shouted. "Giving WMDs to terrorists is a _massive_ no-go."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize General Bryce was on the line."

"I'll call you back." Wheeljack said, rushed. "I have something I need to take care of."

"Soundwave has taken the bait." Ratchet reported. "Scourge?"

"Relic secured." Scourge confirmed as he landed in front of Ratchet, waving it in front of his face. "You know… Since it was I who bested Soundwave and retrieved the treasure, maybe I should…"

"Let him have it." The Scientist announced.

"Really?" Scourge asked.

"Yeah. It's what Silas would say. 'Spirit of Cooperation' and all that."

Scourge shrugged and handed Ratchet the tool. Ratchet nodded and switched out his multitool again, and began inspecting Scourge's wounds and dents.

"You split up?" Fowler asked, incredulously, still focusing on Wheeljack. "Why waste the numbers advantage?"

"What do you know about combat?" Wheeljack chuckled. "It's a known fact that the higher the ratio of identical soldiers to honor-bound swordsmen, the worse the soldiers will do."

"That's ridiculous."

"It's practically scientific law." Wheeljack insisted.

"You've been watching too many movies."

"And who are you to criticize?"

"I was an army ranger. We could wreck with the best of them."

"I'm sure you guys were terrifying." Wheeljack scoffed. "Who knew you and I are so much alike."

Raf could _feel_ Agent Fowler's scowl.

"Rafael! Has Agent Fowler regained consciousness?" Optimus Prime's voice came on over the radio for the first time.

"Stand by, Wheeljack. I'll be right back." Fowler muttered. "I'm here, Prime. What's the situation?"

"I suggest a full evacuation of the research facility at my current coordinates."

"Let me make a call." Fowler said, and then dialed another number. "This is an emergency! Our satellites have detected dangerous solar flare activity! I need that entire station evacuated immediately! Do you hear me? Get out of there, now!" He hung up and went back to the comm. "Base is clear, Prime. Try not to wreck the joint."

"Many thanks, Agent Fowler, but in this instance, such an outcome may be inevitable."

"Who's there?"

"Megatron." Optimus replied grimly, and ended the call.

_A Clash of Titans at the bottom of the world._

"Wheeljack, what's your decision?" Fowler asked again.

"I discussed it with MECH-1, I'm giving them the Tox-En." Wheeljack explained. "They're gonna jet it back to their base while I escort them with the Jackhammer."

"That's not the mission! If you can't keep it, dump it in the lava or something!"

"What kind of idiot hunts for treasure and then climbs a volcano to toss it in when they can just fly away?"

"Wheeljack, I am ordering you to-"

"I don't take orders." Wheeljack growled. "Maybe from Optimus, maybe from Magnus, but definitely not from you."

"Prime." Agent Fowler shouted over the comm. "Prime! Prime! Prime, answer me!"

"Graagh!" Optimus shouted, over the sound of combat. "What is it, Agent Fowler, I'm currently occupied!"

"Wheeljack's about to hand over a load of Tox-En to MECH!"

"He wha-" A crash and static. "Why is he doing that?"

"He doesn't want to risk bringing it to base and he can't keep it on his ship, so MECH's trying to get their paws on it!"

"Can he not destroy it?"

"That's a waste, Optimus." Wheeljack insisted. "There's no more reason to destroy this stuff than there is to destroy the Spark Extractor unless there's no other choice. The 'Cons had no issue using this stuff as a weapon, We may as well take it for ourselves while we have the chance."

"I can't deal with this now!" Optimus shouted, over the sound of blaster fire.

"Just like Magnus." Wheeljack said. "Look, is there any good reason for me _not_ to go with this plan?"

"Use your judgment, Wheeljack." Optimus yelled, striking something, and ended the call.

"Sorry, pal, looks like we're doing things my way."

"Never took you for a traitor, Wheeljack." Fowler spat.

"I'm not betraying the Autobots, I'm ignoring _you_. And I was never on your side in the first place."

The phone rang again.

"Miko, what is it?" Fowler snapped.

"Agent Fowler, mission was kind of a bust, and we may have sort of kind of accidentally been spotted. By one guy, though."

"What in the Sam Hill?"

"His name is Vogel, from the New York Transit Authority, and he saw us. Just… do your thing?"

"I'm in the middle of a crisis here, and you want me to… uh, fine, put him on the line. Mr. Vogel, this is Special Agent William Fowler of the United States government. You are hereby deputized as an Honorary Agent for the Department of, um Interstellar Relations."

"Thank you, sir," A new voice said, then whispered. "So… you folks'll be in touch?"

"Absolutely," Fowler replied, "but until then, we need to maintain complete radio silence."

"It's been an honor."

Fowler hung up.

"Hey Bulkhead!" Agent Fowler shouted. "Miko's safe."

"That's my girl!" Bulkhead yelled back.

"Requesting a Groundbridge." Ratchet said, finishing up his repairs of Scourge. The portal opened up a few seconds later, and the two of them stepped through. As they did, the MECH computer began receiving a large amount of data. From Scourge's perspective, the same was happening at the Autobot base.

"Wheeljack, I'm warning you, don't do that!" Fowler shouted, returning his attention to Wheeljack.

"Ratchet, look!" Raf said through the Scourge mic.

"Wheeljack, respond!"

"The Iacon database?" Ratchet gasped.

"It's downloading into our mainframe!" Raf said excitedly.

_And just which one is "ours"?_

"Answer me!" Fowler yelled, his anger evident.

"Rafael, you are a genius!" Ratchet grinned.

"Ratchet, do you know what Wheeljack just did?!"

"Guys, we need a bridge." Jack reported, none too excited.

"No, what?" Ratchet said, his voice filled with dread as he pulled the lever.

"He's escorting MECH-1 back to their base… with a load of Tox-En!"

"WHAT?!" Ratchet shouted, rushing over to the comm. "Not even Wheeljack would be so insubordinate as to give bioweapons to a third party!"

"Well, it's not exactly a bioweapon." The Scientist corrected. "It doesn't seem to harm us at all."

"But it harms _us_ and you _know_ that!" Ratchet yelled back.

"Right but for it to be a bioweapon, it would have to harm a living organism, which it doesn't."

"We _are_ organisms! We live! We think! We feel! There are countless beings in the galaxy like us!"

"But we're the only _real_ life forms you know of?" the Scientist questioned.

"By the Allspark…" Ratchet grumbled, "Cybertronians are _alive!_ Junkions are _alive!_ Lithonians are _alive!_ _You_ are the exceptions. _You_ are the aberrations. _You_ are the demon spawn of the Chaos Bringer, so either fix your operational definitions, or get over yourself!"

_And so the truth comes out._

"Ratchet… do you really think that?" Jack asked, after a thirty second awkward silence. Nobody saw him enter through the Ground Bridge. Miko trailed behind, along with Seven and his team. They supported a burned, scratched, but otherwise OK Bumblebee.

"No… Jack, everybody, I'm sorry. I just got upset."

"I'll bet you did." Fowler muttered sarcastically. "You love humans, you just don't like it when they don't know their place."

"Exactly!" Ratchet said, not picking up on the venom. "I'm glad you understand, Agent Fowler."

"Oh don't worry. I understand completely."

"So, did you retrieve the relic?" Ratchet asked.

"No…" Mio sighed.

"Do you at least know what the Decepticons made off with?"

"It wasn't the Decepticons… Well, it was _a_ Decepticon: Starscream."

Everybody looked at Seven.

"I thought you said you didn't lie on field reports." Ratchet questioned.

"He was dead. I saw him. Bulkhead did too."

"Starscream was scrap, Ratchet, I was there." Bulkhead said as he drove up to them.

"Well, he's alive now, and he can walk through walls, disappear, and fly." Jack sighed. "He wrestled the device from Bumblebee's hand just as the subway would have hit them both. The train slammed into them, but Starscream phased right through it. Bumblebee, not so much."

"You OK, Bee?" Raf asked.

"I feel better than I look." He buzzed, running a finger along his ruined finish. "This must be how Knockout feels all the time."

"So we're one for three." Ratchet said, holding up the device that Scourge took. "But the Decepticons have nothing. This day was not a total loss. Now we must simply wait for Optimus."

Moments later, the base clamored at the sound of several jets overhead. Raf and the Scientist stepped outside to see The Jackhammer land, escorted by MECH-1 and the Sweeps. Wheeljack opened the cargo bay and stepped out of the ship, looking around before focusing on Raf.

"Hey hey, kid. What are you doing here?" He asked, holding the egg-shaped relic container.

"Mission control." The Scientist said. "Is that the Tox-En?"

"Yeah. I went out on a limb here trusting you guys with this stuff. Do me a favor: if you ever manage to make some explosives with it, send some my way, yeah?"

"Oh… Wheeljack, was it?" the Scientist laughed as he gestured for the MECH troopers to carry the container away. "You're going to love it here."

"I think so, but I've got places to be. If you ever want to go wreck some Decepticons with me, let me know." He looked down at Raf. "You want a lift back to base?"

Raf looked up at the Scientist, who shook his head. He followed the Scientist back into the control room as Wheeljack flew away.

* * *

When Wheeljack walked back into base, Ratchet and Fowler were giving them both strange looks, each from opposite sides of the room. Jack was sitting next to the agent, catching up on rest. Raf noted that he had rotated the couch to face Arcee who was still in stasis on the opposite side of the room.

Miko sat with Bulkhead, happily chatting away while Ratchet inspected him on the medical bed next to Optimus, who was clutching a large hole in his side that crackled with electricity. Seven and his squad were buffing out the scratches on Bumblebee and their own cars, away from everyone else. Scourge stood silently in the corner, watching them all. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Wheeljack's entry, but said nothing.

"So, Optimus, what relic did you find?" Wheeljack asked, examining Bulkhead's injuries while Ratchet worked.

"Megatron has taken the Apex Armor." Optimus muttered grimly. "He is now, for all intents and purposes, invincible."

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Prepare for extermination!

-Careful Spongebob. Careful Spongebob! CAREFUL SPONGEBOB!

-This is the thing. This is the pulse. This is what I do.

* * *

AN: Next chapter drops January 18th.

Feel free to ask questions and give reviews, guys. This is my first fanfiction so if you see something that doesn't make sense, or want to offer me criticism, or just call me a no-talent hack, I'll appreciate the feedback all the same.


	11. The Author Hits His Stride

"_We can't hold out forever, Kup, but we can give them one humongous repair bill."_

\- Hot Rod, Primax Cluster

* * *

Optimus Prime had a rather distinct manner of speech, when he spoke in English. His choice of words always seemed to have been carefully considered before he had actually said anything, and his slow, methodical cadence seemed like a conscious effort on his part that he could never be misunderstood. Just hearing his voice was disarming, because it was hard to imagine a voice like that telling you a lie. It was like the voice of a father figure or an older brother. If there were a platonic form of the English language, Optimus used it. No hyperbole, no doubletalk, just useful information.

So when Optimus Prime said "Megatron is invincible", nobody disbelieved him, but his calm delivery meant that nobody panicked either. The room just sat in silence, fully absorbing the magnitude of the statement at face value.

Miko volunteered to break the silence. "So what if Sharkface got a new suit? I mean, he's not _really_ unbeatable, right?"

"No… He is not undefeatable in that sense. There is still hope to defeat the Decepticons." Optimus said, struggling to focus on the conversation. "But Megatron himself, for as long as he wears the armor, cannot be harmed by any conventional means. And he is wary enough now that he will wear it at every opportunity."

"Wait, 'wary'?" Ratchet asked. "What did Megatron say?"

"MECH's activities have been a persistent thorn in the side of the Decepticon war effort, and Megatron has grown even more ruthless with the infiltration of his warship. I fear that they have made themselves a much a target for his wrath as we are. Megatron has been prosecuting a war for eons against a single, united enemy led by someone he knows well, just as he felt that victory was within his grasp, he now faces a new foe that has not yet succumbed to the weariness that comes with constant battle, and it is an enemy that he does not know."

"In other words, with MECH on our side, Megatron's getting desperate?" Miko suggested.

Raf caught Ratchet making air quotes at the words "on our side".

"Perhaps desperate is not the word. Desperation was when he ordered his warship to destroy any and all ships attempting to escape our dying planet, so that we would all die together. This is… mania. His description of his intended fate for MECH has revealed a bloodlust that I had actually assumed to have faded with time."

"So what do we do now?" Jack said.

"Priority one is to continue decoding the Iacon database and ensure that Megatron does not seize any more relics." Optimus sighed. "Once Ratchet repairs me, I will begin working on decryptions.

"Wait, I thought priority one was freeing Arcee?"

"That is a job for Ratchet." Optimus pointed out. "Her continued imprisonment hurts us as much as it does you. This is why we keep her within sight."

"I understand, Optimus." Jack said, still staring at his frozen Autobot companion.

Agent Fowler's phone rang, and he stepped away to answer. "Yes, sir." He said a moment later, and turned to the group. "Turns out, highlights of your Big Apple adventure got caught on security tape. The Pentagon needs me to run interference with the Mayor. I tried to stall, but-"

Go where you are needed, Agent Fowler." Optimus nodded,

"Keep me posted, Prime." Fowler insisted as he took the elevator up, "I mean it."

"So… If you fought Megatron, Wheeljack beat Dreadwing, and Scourge beat Soundwave, then… Who did Seven and Bee fight? Knockout?" Raf asked.

"Uh, we were there too." Jack reminded him.

"It wasn't Knockout." Seven informed the group as he walked among them. "The boys and I made sure of that when we blew his lab sky high. It was a gang of Insecticons, led by the biggest, angriest bug I've ever seen."

"Hardshell." Miko pointed out. "His name was Hardshell."

"Wait, it had a name?" Wheeljack asked. "The Insecticons operate on a hivemind, they aren't supposed to have their own personalities."

"Well, this one did." Jack said. "It was ordering the others around and everything."

"Interesting." The Scientist said. "We should capture it for study."

"What?" Ratchet demanded. "No way can you make an Insecticon another one of your sick experiments!"

"Why not?"

"Because… because we can't just torture a defenseless lifeform like that!"

"The Insecticons aren't exactly defenseless, doc." Wheeljack noted.

"And we'd be happy to give the beast a fighting chance." Scourge offered.

"Nevertheless, we cannot risk any Autobot casualties, given the current situation!" Ratchet protested.

"I'm not an Autobot." Scourge reminded him.

"And I'll be fine." Wheeljack insisted. "The Insecticons have scrapped more than their fair share of Wreckers. Imagine if one of them got Bulkhead. Would you stop me then?"

"Jackie, why are you so eager to help MECH?" Bulkhead asked.

"Two reasons." Wheeljack said. "One, I like their style. I admit, I'm not exactly a team player, but this partnership is working out great so far. Two. No offense Prime, but this is the first time in a while we've really had a chance to put the 'Cons on the defensive again, and I don't want to waste it because you want to be General Wait-and-See."

"Wheeljack, it is exactly that kind of attitude that convinced me to put Ultra Magnus in charge of the Wreckers." Optimus sighed.

"And look around you, Optimus. Bulkhead and I are the only Wreckers left. The rest were terminated by the likes of Hardshell and Dreadwing, because we ran and hid waiting for a chance that isn't coming. The 'Cons are winning by attrition, Optimus. Not the other way around. This isn't exodus… this is diaspora."

"Ya know, getting an Insecticon research subject _could_ help us figure out how to free Arcee." Jack said.

"You're all insane." Ratchet whispered. "I can appreciate Wheeljack's opinions on the state of the war effort, but what you're suggesting is barbaric!"

"It's a small sacrifice for the greater good, Ratchet." Jack said.

"That's easy for you to say, Jack. You're not-"

"Not what? Not under threat from the Decepticons? This is our planet that they're on."

"Optimus." Ratchet said, ignoring him.

"I do not lead MECH, I only lead the Autobots." Optimus said pensively. "And they seem to be settled on their course of action. Wheeljack, on the other hand, is technically under my command, but I am concerned that forbidding him in this case would lead only to him causing more trouble in order to disobey me anyway."

"How perceptive, Prime."

"But know this, Wheeljack. If, during your excursion, you find yourself in danger, there will be no Autobots to rescue you. This is not a threat, this is a fact."

"Eh, don't worry. Wreckers don't call for backup."

"They call for cleanup!" Bulkhead laughed, coughing afterwards.

* * *

The Jackhammer was a pretty cool ship, all things considered. It had a sort of sci-fi charm that stood out even when one was surrounded by giant talking robots. It's car-shaped command pod with two flat panels sticking out of the sides parallel to each other made no sense from an engineering perspective, but it still managed to look like it would be perfect for shooting down other, more aerodynamic starships in the trenches of some space station.

Wheeljack's assertion that it was built for two, however, did not take into account just how big some passengers could be. Scourge fit inside, yes, but he had to duck his head to get into the door, and was clearly uncomfortable as he hunched his head over to fit inside the passenger seat, bending his knees and pulling his arms and wings in as much as possible. It would have probably been a pretty comical sight if Raf wasn't viewing it in first person.

A few seconds after Wheelack shifted the ship into Autopilot, there was a clatter in the back of the ship. Wheeljack hopped out of his seat and readied his blasters at the hypothetical intruder, while Scourge turned his head in an attempt to see the issue. The cockpit seemed empty enough, until Wheeljack looked down and saw Jack and Miko looking up at him.

"Miko, is it _that_ hard to sit still?" Jack asked, exasperated.

"What are you two doing here?"

"Going after our only hope of freeing Arcee." Jack answered, stepping forward. "Miko wanted in."

"I'm taking you back." Wheeljack said, sitting back in his seat and taking back manual control.

"No, wait!" Jack protested.

"Kids, I get it, you two care about your partners. I do too. But I _did_ promise Prime that I wouldn't be putting any of his Autobots in danger, and that's the most reasonable thing he's asked me in thousands of years."

"But we're not Autobots!" Jack added.

"Well, I mean, we _are_ part of Team Prime." Miko shrugged.

"Yeah, but Wheeljack wouldn't be breaking his promise by taking us along, would he?"

"No…" Wheeljack said reluctantly. "I guess I wouldn't."

"Great, then what's the problem?"

"You've created a monster." Scourge laughed, elbowing Wheeljack in the side.

Wheeljack groaned and looked out the cockpit window.

* * *

The sun was actually high in the sky again when the Jackhammer landed in the middle of the woods. The kids went out first, then Wheeljack, and lastly Scourge managed to squeeze his way out of the ship with minimal scraping. Once they were out, Wheeljack crouched down and gestured for the group to follow him until they reached a small cliff overlooking a cave entrance. Moments later, a Vehicon walked out of it, weapon ready, looked side to side, and returned inside.

"An Energon mine that I haven't struck yet." Scourge said, rubbing his hands together. "How many more have you found, Wheeljack?"

"You didn't think I've been sitting on my can since I've been on this rock?"

"But shouldn't we be at an Insecticon hive?" Miko asked.

"The bugs are bound by a single mind, remember?" Jack reminded her.

"Right." Wheeljack nodded. "Trying to draw a specific one out is nearly impossible, so we're gonna make some noise. Now, this is really Scourge's show. What do you think?"

"The kids should sneak in and scope the place out." The Scientist suggested. "They'll have an easier time than you."

"That seems like a horrible idea." Jack said. Wheeljack nodded in agreement.

"Let's do it!" Miko whispered before yanking Jack by his arm into the cave. After a moment, a small video feed appeared on the main Scourge screen. "We got five, maybe six troopers in the main cavern." Miko narrated as she panned a camera, likely her cell phone, around the mine interior.

"And two more keeping an eye on things form the second floor." Jack added.

"What's in that second chamber over there?" Scourge asked.

"Storage." Miko said after a second.

Scourge nodded and cut the feed, turning to Wheeljack and giving him the thumbs up.

Wheeljack smirked and charged through the entrance, and Scourge pounced from behind cover to follow him. Wheeljack unsheathed his katanas and slammed into one of the guards who was overlooking the mine, sending him over the edge and into the cavern. He then jumped off of the edge himself to slash at a miner that had reacted quickly enough to begin firing at him.

Scourge leapt off as well, pinning down one of the Vehicon troopers and tearing out its throat. "You will all beg for mercy… In vain." He declared to the approaching guards. One of them backed up when it recognized its attacker, but Wheeljack quickly swooped in and decapitated it, moving to stab the other one in the back before while Scourge grabbed the last one by the head and chucked it into a wall. A minute of mayhem later and the mine was completely cleared.

Miko and Jack stepped out from behind a stack of energon cubes. Miko was bleeding from her forehead, though she didn't seem particularly fazed by it.

"Uh oh." Wheeljack said, crouching down to inspect it.

"It's fine." Miko said, pushing his hands away. "What's next?"

"Now we give Megatron a call." Wheeljack sighed. He stepped into the storage chamber and found a communications console, clearing his robotic throat for no discernable reason, he pressed the button. "Attention, Nemesis. This is mine TVC-15 sending an emergency transmission. Put Megatron on the line."

"What seems to be the problem?" a Vehicon asked on the other end.

"I said put Megatron on the line." Wheeljack repeated.

There was a pause for a second, and Scourge pulled Wheeljack away from the transmit button. "I want to do this part," he explained.

"What is it?" The gravelly voice of Megatron asked.

"I am invincible. I cannot be stopped. You have been warned." Scourge intoned in a voice even more menacing than usual.

"Scourge, the wildcard that enjoys hunting." Megatron said calmly.

"It's what I do, and just now, I just slaughtered my way through an unusually poorly defended mining operation."

"The loss of one asset is hardly a blow to the Decepticon cause."

"We both know that's a lie. I've taken at least a dozen. And we're going to keep hunting for them, one by one, until I get what I want."

"And what, pray tell, would that be?"

"I heard this rumor that during a mission to New York, you deployed an Insecticon into the subways that was, quote, 'the biggest, angriest bug we've ever seen'. And a fair bit more intelligent than the others too."

"And?"

"I want to kill it and mount its head on my fireplace."

"What… what is a fireplace?"

"That's not important; the important thing is that I want to fight the Insecticon known as Hardshell in mortal combat, that I may test my might."

"Oh really? Very well then, Scourge. You will have your one on one battle with Hardshell, and I will wait with baited breath for him to return to my ship with your lifeless husk."

"I wouldn't count on it. So here's the deal. I'll transmit the coordinates of my next target. If Hardshell's there, then those mining whelps just might be spared my wrath."

Megatron growled and hung up the call as Wheeljack sent in the details.

"So, you really think Megatron's gonna send Hardshell for you to fight one on one?" Jack asked as they piled back into the ship.

Scourge, Wheeljack, the Scientist, and _Unicron_ laughed. Even Miko smiled.

"Kid, Megatron's probably gonna send at _least_ six for good measure." Wheeljack said, wiping a nonexistent tear from his eye. "Scourge, you calling in the Sweeps?"

"Of course." Scourge nodded, and activated the ship's communicator. "Scourge to MECH-1, meet me at my coordinates. We're going to see about solving our bug problem."

"Affirmative." MECH-1 responded. "Extermination or Experimentation?"

"Six of one, half a dozen of the other." The Scientist said.

"On our way."

"Excellent." Scourge said, hanging up.

"Not much for conversation, are they?" Wheeljack asked.

"The Sweeps? They do what I say and they don't complain. And they have ingenuity that I like in my huntsmen."

"So you're just gonna ambush them? That's the plan?" Jack questioned.

"Yep." Wheeljack nodded.

"Pretty much." Scourge agreed.

"But if this doesn't work out-"

"-which it will."

"Right, which it will, but if it doesn't, hit this button here." Wheeljack pointed at a blue button on the dashboard. "I preset the autopilot to get you back to Prime's base."

"Wait, really? We wanted to help!" Miko said, wiping her blood onto her sleeve without a hint of irony.

"Tell you what, Miko, when I think it's safe to bring you into battle without Bulkhead filing off my rivets, you can help, but since you can't…" he pointed to the button again. "back to base."

Wheeljack landed and walked out with Scourge, closing the door behind him.

They were in a massive canyon, with a vast open space stretching around them. At one of the canyon walls opposite the ship, easily two hundred yards away, was the entrance to a cave, no doubt the energon mine in question. Wheeljack drove up to the entrance of it while Scourge looked up at the canyon walls. He put a finger to his ear. "MECH-1, we are in the middle of… possibly the most obvious ambush I have ever heard of."

"You in there, bug?" Wheeljack shouted into the cave.

Scourge looked up in time to see an impressively large Insecticon roar and jump off of the cliff in an attempt to ground pound Wheeljack. Wheeljack reversed out of the way as the Insecticon stood up to its full height, a full meter above Scourge himself, and drove forward, transformed, and delivered a two legged kick directly into Hardshell's abdomen.

Wheeljack reached for a grenade and was immediately knocked off his feet and into a boulder by the charging Insecticon, making him drop his grenade before he could even pull the pin.

Scourge sprinted forward, claws out, and leapt at him, but it reacted quickly, slamming a giant fist into him and knocking him to the ground.

"Two against one, and here I expected you to fight with honor." The Insecticon growled.

"Yeah, no, we don't really do that." Wheeljack said, as he pushed himself up.

"No matter, I will crush you both with my bare hands regardless." Hardshell grunted and punched Wheeljack through the boulder, and reached down to lift Scourge before spinning around and throwing him into Wheeljack.

Wheeljack pulled Scourge up and pulled out his swords again, once more going on the offensive while Scourge ran to the side and curved around towards the monster. The Wrecker jumped and did a whirlwind slash onto the Insecticon's face, stunning it long enough for Scourge to drive his claws into its side. Hardshell growled and pulled his elbow in to trap Scourge, but Wheeljack pressed the attack, sweeping its legs and making it fall, slamming Scourge into the ground but releasing him as is stood up. Wheeljack was a blur now, jumping, spinning, slashing, and kicking Hardshell, doing little visible damage but preventing him from actually striking back.

Scourge crawled behind him, and Wheeljack's next hit made Hardshell trip and fall on his back, giving Scourge time to roll over, stand, and stomp directly into Hardshell's pelvis.

Hardshell screeched and shoved his foot into the chest of an advancing Wheeljack, and knocked Scourge back before standing up again. Wheeljack ran forward again, pushing against a rock to punch Hardshell directly in the face, turning the Insecticon around to meet Scourge's waiting fist. The blow knocked him back, where Wheeljack caught him in a cruel mockery of a trust fall and pushed him back up to Scourge who kicked him in the stomach. Wheeljack jumped and slammed his fists into the bug's back, knocking him onto his stomach, and jammed both of his swords into its back.

Hardshell shrieked again and two skinnier arms protruded from his sides and pulled the katana out of his back. He jumped out from between them and inspected the swords, and then grabbed them in his main hands. He stretched his arms out, and his hands spun freely, whirling the blades like two windmills at speeds so fast that from Raf's view on the screen they seemed to be spinning slowly in the opposite direction. Hardshell moved on Wheeljack first, attempting to trap him in between the bladed so that he could strike with impunity.

Scourge looked to his side and saw Wheeljack's still undetonated grenade, pulling the pin and waiting a second before throwing it at Hardshell, where it exploded right behind his back, blasting the blades out of his hand, but his body directly into Wheeljack. Scourge ran forward and pulled him off grunting with effort before tossing him aside to lift up Wheeljack.

"Huh… This is one tough bug." Wheeljack groaned, cradling his forehead.

"A bug to be crushed!" Scourge grinned manically, jumping to the side just as Hardshell attempted to punch him in the back. The 'Con stumbled, giving Wheeljack just enough time to punch it in the face again, and Scourge quickly caught it, driving his knee into his stomach and turning him around, held in a full nelson for Wheeljack to punch it in the stomach again. Scourge kneed him in the back. Wheeljack went for its chest, and then uppercut its face, knocking a mandible loose, and Scourge kneed it in the back again. Wheeljack jumped up to grab its head, pulling it down to knee it in the chin, ripping off the loose mandible in the effort.

"How do you like that, scrap-eater?" Wheeljack mocked, panting as Scourge threw Hardshell to the ground.

"Taunts during battle?" The bug pushed himself to his feet and glared at Wheeljack, then turned to Scourge. "And you, never fought a bigger opponent before? Weak, the both of you."

Wheeljack hopped to the side as Hardshell threw his fist at him, grabbing his swords and turning to face his enemy… who had already directed his attention to Scourge again. Hardshell Grabbed Scourge by the wing, and began punching him in the chest and facr repeatedly so hard that the feed cut for a second. Hardshell howled ecstatically, and for the second time in the fight, threw him at Wheeljack, who ducked out of the way this time, but was not fast enough to avoid being kicked up into the air and punched by four fists simultaneously.

"Is Scourge getting whooped?" a voice said behind Raf. He turned around to see a small crowd of commandos and technicians had gathered to watch the fight unfold on screen.

Scourge groaned and stumbled to his feet, struggling to lift Wheeljack. Hardshell jumped into the air and transformed into his giant beetle form, ramming into the both of them and transforming back. This time, neither Scourge nor Wheeljack could get up as the Insecticon walked towards them, flexing his shoulders. He stood over Scourge, and drew back a claw.

"Ugh… Scourge to MECH-1, now would be a good time to save the day…" Scourge sputtered.

As if on cue, the feed was filled with the sights and sounds of heavy blaster fire. Two dozen MECH fighters flew overhead, strafing the Insecticon and blasting him off of Scourge. Hardshell shielded himself with his arms and backed away stumbling from the amount of firepower being leveled at him. Once he was a sufficient distance away, twelve of the fighters transformed to surround him, switching both of their arms into blasters and unloading yet more firepower into the now scared and confused Insecticon. After thirty seconds of sustained fire, Hardshell finally collapsed. The troopers moved in, four of them leveling their blasters at him, while the others began lifting him up, two to a limb. Six of the twelve fliers transformed down and helped to pick up Wheeljack and Scourge. Scourge stepped forward to look at the burned, dented, and broken Insecticon.

"Bringing two dozen to defeat one. You truly are weak." Hardshell wheezed as the troopers began lifting him to the Jackhammer's cargo hold.

"Yeah, maybe." Wheeljack chuckled. "Yet here we stand."

"And there you lie." Scourge finished.

"I agree completely." Hardshell coughed.

"Scourge." One of the six fliers said. "We've got problems."

"How many problems?" Scourge asked, taking his seat in the ship next to Wheeljack.

"I'd say ninety nine."

Wheeljack hit the Autopilot and the ship lifted off and turned around to blast away from the gathering cloud of Insecticons come to retrieve their comrade. The Armada transformed back into jets and began escorting the ship.

"I hope you don't think you're coming back to base with that many bugs following you." The Scientist said. "At least, not unless they're dead."

"Working on it." MECH-1 reported, expressing doubt for once.

"Hey, I didn't use my missiles yet, did I?" Wheeljack asked. He adjusted the rear-view camera's targeting data, and tapped the red button twice. "Hey, Sweeps, you might want to pull out."

"Gladly."

Four rockets streaked out of the Jackhammer and into the middle of the Insecticon plague, exploding in right in the middle of it. The explosion shook the ship and could be heard from the MECH base. Once the smoke cleared, There were no Insecticons left in the sky, and the Sweeps, somewhat dented, all regrouped behind the ship. Six of them broke off from the group to land. Behind Raf, the room cheered as if they had successfully landed a rocket on the moon.

"MECH-1 to base, checking the crash site for salvage."

"Roger that." The Scientist agreed.

_At long last… an Insecticon._

Yeah. Because the MECH base needed more of those.

_MECH needs to stop attempting to raise the dead without me. The type of robot they choose to experiment on is irrelevant._

* * *

"So, between Scourge bringing back Hardshell, Seven bringing back Dark Energon, and the Sweeps and the Tox-En, we are three for three on good deliveries today." The Scientist summarized as he once again stood next to Raf on the landing pad waiting for the Jackhammer to touch down.

"Yeah. Wow, has it only been a day since the Insecticon attacked Silas?" Raf asked.

"24 hours, as of now." The Scientist nodded. "I'm used to hours like this, but I've actually been wondering how a twelve year old doesn't even have bags under his eyes."

"I… huh." He was right. He didn't feel tired at all. Like, he could sleep if he wanted to, but only in the sense that he knew that it was a thing that he should do.

"In fact, the only hint you gave to being tired was when you snapped at me after Silas got stomped." The Scientist continued. "Gotta admit, it gave me flashbacks to my old CO."

"Oh, yeah. I was pretty tired then, I guess."

"You know, between the magic alien robot technology and all the drama today, it did get me thinking."

_A dangerous activity if there ever was one._

"Back when you first introduced yourself to us, among your technological promises was, if I remember right, 'a transhuman mental connection with an overmind, the likes of which we could not even begin to comprehend'. Now, I've seen most of the other stuff in action, but that promise in particular stuck out, because nothing like that has ever come up once since."

"Uh… yeah."

"Yeah."

The Jackhammer landed.

"Glad we could have this heart-to-heart." The Scientist nodded, and monitored as several guards stepped forward in their battlesuits to retrieve Hardshell.

"Sir!" one of them shouted as they lifted the incapacitated Insecticon away. "The girl inside is wounded, do we assist?"

"Do you need to ask?"

"In this organization? Yes."

"Was that meant to be funny?"

"…"

"Just… get the girl to the infirmary."

* * *

"Whoah. What happened to Breakdown?" Jack asked.

The two of them had just left Miko's room in the infirmary where a MECH doctor was inspecting her head wound. Nothing major, it might need a few stitches. The Scientist was overseeing MECH's recent acquisitions in another part of the base, and so Raf found himself with free roam of the base, which he immediately used to visit Miko. Jack was sitting beside her, dozing off in his seat when Raf walked in.

After Raf checked up on Miko, who was out like a light from exhaustion and slight blood loss, Jack decided to follow Raf out. The guard didn't stop him, so Raf wandered the building until he passed by the largest room in it. It looked like a workshop, a loading dock, and an operating theater all in one, and in the center of it all was Breakdown's torso.

"That's actually not Breakdown." Raf explained. "That's Silas' battlesuit."

"Wait, really?" Jack pushed his way in through the main door to investigate.

"Jack, I don't think we're really supposed to be in here." Raf protested as he followed behind.

"If they didn't want us in, they would have posted guards and locked the doors." Jack scoffed. "So where is MECH's head honcho, anyway?"

"Uh… Over here." Raf pointed to what looked like a hyperbaric chamber with Silas's unconscious body inside.

Bruises, burns, broken bones. Silas looked every bit like he had just gone toe to toe with a giant robot and had only technically won. The monitors indicated that his condition was stable, at the least.

"You know, when he kidnapped my mom, I had begged him to stop. I told him that he didn't have to do that. That I would walk away and never mention what I had seen to anybody." Jack looked down at the colonel and dragged his fingers along the control panel. "When I pounded at his chest, and he pushed me to the ground, he seemed so strong, so… unstoppable. Like a walking mountain that would crush you if you got in his way. Now he's so… fragile. Like a stiff breeze could end this once and for all."

"Jack, I know he did horrible things, but-"

"Relax, Raf. I wouldn't do it to Megatron when I had the chance, because it wasn't what Prime would have wanted. I won't do it here. Now _that_ would be evil." He turned around and walked away. "I'm going back to base with Wheeljack as soon as Miko wakes up. You should probably come with us."

Raf nodded in agreement, but before he followed Jack out, he picked up the clipboard and saw that Silas had been placed in a medically induced coma. Underlined in bold at the bottom of the log detailing a list of injuries was just one word.

"**CYCLONUS**"

* * *

"By the Allspark, what happened?" Ratchet asked when the group walked into the base. He scanned the four of them before he focused on Miko. "Wheeljack, what did you do?"

"She's fine!" Wheeljack laughed weakly. "Kid's a pro."

"Wait, what happened?" Bumblebee hummed, approaching the scene. "Hey, Raf, you're back!"

"It's fine, Bee."

"It is _not_ fine!" Ratchet insisted, crouching down to inspect Miko further. "Wheeljack, I have always known you to be irresponsible, but this is… how?!"

"The kids stowed away on the Jackhammer, so I… had them scout an energon mine before Scourge and I raided it."

Ratchet's eyes did an interesting spinning thing. "You… You what?"

"No, I wanted to do it, honest!" Miko pleaded, backing away from Ratchet. "Tell him, Jack!"

"She did, Ratchet, believe me."

"But you should know better, Jack!" Ratchet began shouting. "Wheeljack should know better!"

Wheeljack looked away. "Listen, doc, I'm sorry, it won't happen again, I promise."

"I'm sure."

"At least you bandaged it." Bumblebee whistled, attempting to defuse some of the tension.

"That is true. Did Rafael take care of those wounds?"

Wheeljack cleared his throat. "Actually, the boys at MECH patched her up after I dropped off the Insecticon…"

"_WHAT?!_" Agent Fowler demanded, looking down from the platform.

Jesus Christ could this get any worse?

_I do hope so._

"Kids, up here, now." Agent Fowler ordered.

Jack sighed and walked up the stairs. Miko ran over to check on Bulkhead. Raf stayed where he was.

"Ratchet, is Bulkhead any better?" Miko asked.

"Knockout's torture has caused damage to his central neural conduit." Ratchet shook his head. "He will require considerably more care before he is mission ready again."

"Oh…"

"I would have thought you would react more strongly." Ratchet noted.

"Well, I mean. I did too. But… I know Seven probably blew Knockout up back on the ship, and Bulkhead isn't, like, dying." Miko sighed. "Now _that_ would be pretty bad. I'm just gonna have to help him train until he's back in tip-top shape!"

"Miko. Raf. Up here." Fowler repeated.

"Coming, Agent Fowler." Raf trudged up the stairs reluctantly, Miko followed close behind.

Fowler looked at Raf for an uncomfortably long time, sighed, and gestured for them to follow him into the helipad elevator. Fowler hit the up button, staring straight ahead, refusing to meet their eyes. When they reached the top, Agent Fowler took a step towards the edge of the Silo plateau, staring at the sunset, and took a deep breath. The kids awkwardly glanced at each other, not quite sure what Fowler was about to talk about.

"I think it's time I told you about the world you're inheriting." Fowler sighed. "Kids, who of you has heard the term 'Mutually Assured Destruction'?"

Raf raised his hand, as did Jack.

"OK, who of you actually knows what it is?"

Jack put his hand down.

"Well, I'll keep it simple. After we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima at the end of WWII-"

"Oh! I know about that!" Miko chimed in.

"Yeah, I'd kind of hope so…" Fowler sighed. "So, after we dropped the most powerful weapons known to mankind on a pair of cities at the tail end of the most destructive war in history, the United States sent a clear message to the Soviet Union: Any aggression from them would be punished with complete annihilation. We figured that with all the time it took us to develop the thing, we'd have a massive head start on them once we started boosting production. For once, America would be completely, utterly safe. But evil always finds a way, because four years later, in 1949, The Soviets tested their first bomb, 'First Lightning'."

"What does this have to do with MECH?" Jack asked.

"I'm getting there. So first we got the bomb, and that was good, because we loved peace and motherhood, then Russia got the bomb, but we figured, 'you know, that's OK, because the balance of power's maintained that way.' So a decision was made that the only way for us to have a chance was to have more atom bombs than they did, so we made a bunch, which could be delivered in as many ways as possible. We made bombs to drop from planes, like that big fella MECH's got. We made ballistic missiles to launch from silos in the desert."

"Like this one?" Miko pointed at the ground beneath her feet.

"Yes, exactly, like this one. Soon, we even had missiles ready to launch from submarines anywhere in the world. And so did they. It was a terrifying setup. Enough ordinance to destroy the planet a thousand times over, all at the push of a button. We were madmen. And there were a few times when the only thing stopping us from sending the other side back to the Stone Age was the fact that they could do the same to us, and there wasn't a thing we could do to stop it. You kids don't really know what it's like, do you? To go to sleep each night, knowing in the back of your mind that there was a possibility that the world as you knew it wouldn't be there when you woke up in the morning."

The three of them shook their heads.

"Well, we did, we all did. And we all just accepted it. That was just the way things were, and we lived our lives and tried not to think of it. Until 1983, when Ronald Reagan had an idea: the Strategic Defense Initiative, or 'Star Wars'."

"That sounds cool, what was it?" Miko asked, now thoroughly paying attention.

"The idea behind the Strategic Defense Initiative was to build up a defense network at home and around the world to stop missiles before they could ever even reach America. We were willing to try anything, take suggestions from anyone. And that was the birth of Project Excalibur… and Project Damocles."

"Which were?"

"Excalibur was a satellite mounted laser, placed in orbit with the ability to fire small beams of x-rays that would prematurely detonate missiles in mid-flight. Then-Colonel Robert Bryce wanted to make a network of them, like a web around the globe, and end the threat of nuclear war forever."

"And Damocles?" Raf asked.

"Damocles was the project of one Colonel Leland Bishop, a particle-beam cannon so powerful it could slice up the Pentagon like a birthday cake, or give everyone on Mount Rushmore a Mohawk, all from a satellite in orbit. It's the work of a madman, and in the wrong hands, a threat to anyone, anywhere on the planet, with pinpoint accuracy at the flick of a switch. Why bother dealing with threats as they came, Bishop argued, when we could just annihilate entire installations before they even knew what was happening?"

"So… whose project won out?" Miko asked.

"Neither. In 1989, the wall went down, the Soviets threw in the towel, and Uncle Sam cut the projects. On Christmas in 1991, Gorbachev gave humanity the gift of peace. I remember watching it on the news when I was till SGM Fowler. It was a new world all of a sudden, and we all had to adapt. The 'New American Century', is what it was, and we were all excited about it… Well, almost all of us. Col. Bishop was livid when his project lost funding as soon as they finished the prototype. He was telling every higher up who would listen about the potential of his project, that we all lacked vision to move humanity forward, that we were consigning ourselves to 'the end of history'. And with each rejection, he slipped a little further off the deep end. He had planned his whole career around Project Damocles, and when Col. Bryce was promoted to Brigadier General, I think it broke him."

"Again, what does this have to do with MECH?" Miko asked.

"Well, even though Col. Bishop's ideas weren't all that attractive to the higher ups, who wanted a world of, what did they say… 'military strength, moral clarity, and American leadership', a lot of the enlisted men and were taking to him. He was spreading sedition among the ranks, convincing good young men that the military higher ups were going to send them off to die in foreign countries for corporate interests, while he could have used technology to make sure they would never have to actually risk their lives on the battlefield again."

"That's… crazy!" Jack shouted. "He wanted to just… dehumanize war?"

"Exactly." Fowler said, turning around to face them now. "There was a time when he thought he just might pull off a military coup, so Brigadier General Bryce proposed that the military give Col. Bishop an honorable discharge, full pension, and shut him up. Problem solved, or so we thought."

"What happened?" Raf asked, already fearing the answer.

"Optimus Prime happened." Fowler said, spreading his arms out as if to gesture at the base. "Even though Col. Bishop didn't have security clearance anymore, he still had plenty of contacts in the military, contacts we still haven't completely weeded out. When alien robots made contact with the government, that intel made its way to his lap. Keep in mind, this was ten years after his discharge. Those of us higher up had pretty much forgotten about him, written him off, but you can't discharge an idea, and that's what MECH is. He build up his little secret club underground for a decade after that, completely under our noses, until less than a year ago, when 'Silas' and 'MECH' attacked a convoy carrying the D.N.G.S., talking about the New World Order."

"So… why are you telling us this?" Jack asked.

"Because the human-bot alliance isn't going to be working out much longer." Fowler declared. "General Bryce wasn't very happy when he brought me in for questioning after MECH-7 rolled into this facility with a transforming robot car. When I told him about the truce MECH negotiated, it was all I could do to stop him from scrapping the program entirely, putting me before a tribunal, and doing who knows what to the Autobots for 'aiding and abetting terrorists'. But now with Wheeljack just about ready to mutiny against Prime for them, and their men freely operating in the base, associating with you three, I just don't see this arrangement working anymore. Silas may have been right, and there just might be a war coming, and you're either with us, or you're against us."

"But that's not fair!" Miko said. "The Autobots are here to protect Earth! All of it! Not just America! Not just to do what you want!"

"This isn't their world to protect, Miko." Jack pointed out. "It's one thing to protect the planet from their enemies, but America has been defending countries around the world from groups like MECH. Countries that include Japan. I love the Autobots too, but what's the point of defending the world from Decepticon threats if they're just gonna help out the human ones?"

"So, what, you're just gonna turn your back on the 'bots? On Arcee?"

"No! Miko, how could you say that?"

"I hate MECH just as much as you do, Jack-"

"Unlikely, they didn't kidnap your family."

"Bulkhead _is_ my family. And I was saying before you interrupted, that the government can't just be the Autobot's _mom_, saying who they can or can't get help from. The Autobots know what they're doing! Tell him, Raf!"

Raf raised his hands and stepped back, without comment.

"You're right, Miko. The Autobots aren't our children, they're our guests." Fowler replied. "And while they're guests on our planet, they follow our rules."

"It's not your planet."

"But it is our country. And MECH is a threat to every country anyway!"

"Then _tell_ the Autobots that!" Miko snapped, turning around to storm back to the elevator.

"You think we're going to, what, blast the 'Bots sky high?" Fowler asked. "We wouldn't actually do that."

"Maybe you wouldn't, Agent Fowler." Raf said, shaking his head as he turned to follow Miko back down. "But 'a shadowy government organization with more budget than morals' might."

Agent Fowler didn't have a response to that.

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Do they have chimichangas in space?

-I ain't scared of no jets.

-The Killing Scream

* * *

AN: Another Sunday, another chapter. I'm probably going to re-edit Chapter 10 in the next few days to make it a bit more clear because several people said that I had paced poorly, so if you're one of those people, look forward to that.


	12. Heraldry

"_There are no good aliens or bad aliens, Yeager; it's just us and them... and you chose them."_

\- Harold Attinger, Tyran Cluster

* * *

In the weeks after the conversation with Agent Fowler, Jack had shown up to base more and more rarely. He'd barely speak to Miko at school, and to Raf even less. Every once in a while, he might ride his bike into the base, look around, and ask how Arcee was.

Each time, Ratchet would shake his head, explain that he was doing all he could, but could not get the pod to open.

And then Jack would nod and say he understood, greet everybody, and request a Ground Bridge back to his house, which Ratchet would oblige, and then return to his research.

Optimus would make a vague "hm" noise in response, if he noticed Jack's entry at all, while he worked on decrypting the Iacon database, a task whose frustrating lack of progress was only made tolerable by the fact that the Decepticons didn't seem to have made any breakthroughs either. Whatever the next item was, it was possibly the most heavily encrypted item so far and there were four more entries after it.

Miko was doing her best to train Bulkhead back to his full strength so that he could recover from Knockout's torture, which had taken a greater toll on him than they had expected. Miko felt guilty that she hadn't been more vigilant when she had first noticed that Bulk was injured, but Bulkhead insisted that he was fine, and would be combat ready any day now.

Wheeljack still hadn't returned to base.

All this meant that Bumblebee had to run double-duty in scouting for Energon, a job that he said he enjoyed, since he didn't much prefer being stuck in the base all day.

MECH, for their part, wasn't making any progress either. During one of his trips to their base, which Raf had been doing every other day so as to spend more time with the Autobots, Raf saw that the Scientist and some two dozen MECH technicians were working pretty much around the clock to decrypt the entries and move in on the next relic.

Tox-En research hadn't yielded much in the way of results, as they didn't want to refine their only raw sample without finding a reliable means to synthesize it first.

Silas was still on life support, and the Scientist wasn't letting Raf into the operating room anymore. This, he said, was classified, even for him.

Scourge spent equal amounts of time between the main MECH base and his old hangar. For all Raf had seen, it was still a strange sight to see a thirty foot demon robot wandering the base while MECH commandos saluted him as he passed or greeted him like he was just like them. There was one space in the main base that allowed him enough room to sit down comfortably, and other MECH commandos would drive up next to him, sit on the hoods of their cars, and chat with him while they ate their meals. It was the only time the troopers even partially lifted their masks.

All in all, nothing was happening. And Raf kind of liked this way.

_Well I hate it. Something needs to stir things up before this stagnation goes on any further, and the next relic is taking too long to discover._

Whatever it was, Alpha Trion _really_ wanted to keep it hidden.

_But then why not give the Prime the encryption key instead of hoping that he could code-break better than Soundwave? The Decepticon ship was deciphering codes every hour._

Raf would ask Optimus… some other time, as he seemed pretty intently focused. Raf, for his part, was browsing the web for Bumblebee sightings on the usual conspiracy websites, which were becoming more frequent as he spent more time outside. He had just found one on "TheRealEffingDeal dot com", and replaced it with a tap-dancing monkey, as usual.

It was the one right after it that really grabbed his attention. Entitled "mystery meteor", Raf zoomed in and recognized it as-

"A Cybertronian escape pod?"

Optimus turned around at that.

"Here in earth's atmosphere?" Ratchet asked.

Raf sent the picture up to the main screen, blocking Optimus's work.

"Impossible to tell the faction, given the resolution." Ratchet sighed.

"And what's that… distortion behind it?" Raf asked.

"In any event, this merits investigation." Optimus declared.

"Optimus, Bumblebee is still on a mission." Ratchet said. "And Wheeljack can stay rogue, for all I care."

"An Autobot may be in distress. Ratchet, bring your medical kit. We will have to make do with what we have."

When the Ground Bridge opened, Raf blacked out.

* * *

Raf was in darkness again, This wasn't the advanced darkness that came with his more direct chats with Unicron, this was just your average, everyday darkness. And instead of an infinite expanse of cold malevolence, this darkness was claustrophobic and uncomfortably hot.

Was Unicron there? Could he hear him?

_Ugh. That was a trip.  
_

Distantly, he could hear the muffled voice of Optimus Prime. "This one is of Decepticon origin."

"And the 'Con inside blew its way out." Bumblebee buzzed from further away.

"Optimus, this pod bears Autobot markings," Ratchet said, "but I have never seen such a design before…"

Raf attempted to lift his fists, pound at whatever he was trapped in, but his limbs wouldn't move. He couldn't see them in the darkness nor could he feel them.

Outside, a battlefield's worth of blaster fire sounded off. The familiar buzz of several Insecticons whizzed around him, echoing in the chamber. It was giving him a headache and he wanted it to stop. What was happening?

_Master? Is that you?_

What. That definitely wasn't Unicron.

_Hey, hey! Master, how've you been? What's up? I heeded your call!_

Raf didn't know what was going on anymore. He just wanted out. Out.

_Yessir, one order of es-cap-eh!_

A pounding filled the space from within it, and Raf felt his knuckles slam against something. After several impacts, sunlight streamed into the space, and Raf saw it as the inside of a ship, though he couldn't turn his head. Once the hole was made, two thin purple hands stretched out in front of him and pulled it open wider and climbed out of the hole, his head turned automatically, surveying the scene. Two dozen Vehicons and a few Insecticons were advancing past the escape pod, and the one next to it, and firing at the Autobots. And it looked like they needed help.

_Autobots need help. On it. One cyber-ninja of justice, coming right up!_

Raf felt himself somersault off of the pod and his hands… flipped into blasters…

He was in a Cybertronian's mind. How?

The bot he was in began ducking and weaving through the Decepticons, shooting them and stabbing them in the back while they focused on the enemies to their front. At the same time, another bot ran out from behind the Autobots and began firing wildly at the mass of troopers, nearly hitting him a few times.

The new guy's aim was horrible, because he ended up shooting a puddle of energon that was dripping from the pods. Raf's new body ran for cover, but could not escape the explosion as blue flame washed over him, painlessly, and the world went white, then fuzzy, then grey, then black.

* * *

"Rafael… Activate the Ground Bridge." Optimus ordered over the comm. Raf's eyes shot open as he found himself sitting in his seat, in his own body. Raf opened up the Bridge and massaged his temples. What was that?

_Hmm… I see. Yes._

Raf didn't think he would ever be as relieved as he was just then to hear Unicron's voice.

When Ratchet and Optimus came back through, there were _two _robots following them. The first was a white one, about the size of Bumblebee, with a considerably more streamlined shape than the other Autobots around him. He introduced himself as Smokescreen, and seemed pretty excited to be in the base, particularly with Optimus around.

The other was considerably smaller, about the size of Arcee. At first, Raf thought it was a Vehicon, from its purple coloring and single-line visor. Its head bore a pair of deer-like antlers, sprouting out of a yellow faceplate, and its Autobot insignia was behind a glass panel on his chest, likely part of his windshield or cockpit. Two wheels were on his back, similar to Knockout's, with a third wheel underneath them, like a vestigial tail. What made him really unique were the two wrist-mounted missile launchers on his wrists, almost like Starscream, though his missiles were yellow, and round on the top, not pointy. That, along with his relatively… flat appearance, and one would think this new guy was made from a totally different mold than the other Cybertronians.

"Uh… hi everyone. I'm Sideways." The other new guy said, looking around before settling his gaze on Raf and cocking his head to the side in confusion.

_Oh. This day is going to be interesting._

"We haven't had somebody new here since Wheeljack!" Miko said excitedly, running from Bulkhead's side, up the stairs to the platform to reach eye level with the Autobots. "What're your stories, guys? Where'd you come from? How'd you get here? How many blasters you packin'?"

"So these are the life forms we're supposed to protect?" Smokescreen asked. "Are they all like this?"

"Yeah…" Sideways asked, still confused as he stepped towards Rafael. "This place isn't… what I expected." He seemed to trail off.

"Fortunately not." Ratchet said, putting a hand on Sideways' shoulder and getting his attention back. "But I too share Miko's fascination with how you two came to arrive on Earth."

"I think Smoke should tell his story first." Sideways said. "Probably more interesting than mine."

"Sure." Smokescreen shrugged. "The main thrust of combat operations was at least 20 clicks from the Hall of Records, so things had been pretty quiet. But the situation went downhill fast. The Cons launched a massive surge that wiped out the last line of defenses surrounding Iacon. I was the only thing left to them back, and, let me tell you, I was pumped. I mean, this was my chance to see real action for the first time to prove myself. Until everything went black. Cons took me prisoner and dumped me onto a transport ship. But I managed to give a guard the slip and hopped in an escape pod. Apparently, it was a long-distance pod, 'cause it knocked me into stasis. Next thing I knew, I'm hitting solid ground hard."

"The Decepticon warship must have picked up pod's beacon and guided it to Earth." Ratchet decided.

"That would explain our welcoming committee." Sideways noted. "Well, my story is a bit different. I served under Primal Major during the Silvart campaign, after the war was basically over. Our ship, the Axalon, was sabotaged by a Decepticon prisoner en route back to Cybertron. I don't know what he did, but the ship got trapped in the pull of a black hole. I managed to make it to the escape pod, and had it home in on the closest Autobot signal off of the ship. That turned about to be another escape pod, but where he was going had to have been better than where I was going. Unlike him, though, I didn't spend my trip in stasis, so I am in serious need of some energon right now." He smiled weakly. "Still, bet those 'Cons were disappointed not to find one of their own, huh?" he held out a hand to high-five Smokescreen, who gladly reciprocated.

"Smokescreen, do you know of Alpha Trion's fate after the fall of Iacon?" Optimus asked.

"I wish I did." He hung his head. "But that was the last I ever saw of him."

Optimus sighed.

"That's it, my life story." Smokescreen said, his tone becoming slightly excited. "Not exactly the glory I envisioned for myself… until now! Being here with Optimus Prime! I knew I was destined for great things! I mean, now that you have help, how hard could it be to end this war?"

Sideways cleared his throat and shook his head, just as Bulkhead groaned and limped through the hallway into the main room.

"Take a good look, newbies." He said before standing in front of both of them. "This is how hard."

Sideways whistled as if to say "awkward".

"Smokescreen, Sideways, I would suggest that you take some time to become acclimated to your new surroundings." Optimus said, pointing to Raf and Miko. "A tour of the base would be an excellent start."

"Sure thing!" Miko said excitedly, before looking at a dejected Bulkhead. "I mean… Jack could offer a very informative tour, if he were here."

As if on cue, Bumblebee drove into the base, and Jack stepped out of the door. He looked at the two new Bots, then to Bulkhead and Arcee, and sighed.

"Anybody wanna fill me in?" he asked after 15 seconds of awkward silence.

"If you wanted to replace me and Arcee, you should have called Wheeljack." Bulkhead said after Jack led Smokescreen and Sideways down the hall and around the corner. "I could have lived with that."

"Bulkhead, Smokescreen has a great deal to learn, even if he is eager." Ratchet insisted. "Sideways, well, has the opposite problem."

Raf continued listening while he continued checking the web for 'Bee sightings.

"And once you got them adapted, then what, huh? He's in, we're doorstops!"

"Bulkhead, your places with us are not in jeopardy, but there is no dispute that we have long required additional firepower." Optimus said firmly. "It is essential that our team learns work with our new recruits, not against them."

"Better hope the hotshot's blasters are as big as his mouth, and the spy gets motivated real quick." Bulkhead sighed.

"Hey everyone." Raf called out, partially to end that conversation. "Check this out!" He sent another image up to the main screen.

"Ugh, don't tell me it's another Bumblebee sigh-" Ratchet looked up at the screen. "Oh my."

"Red energon." Optimus identified, looking at the picture of the huge red crystal at an excavation site.

"Here, on Earth?" Ratchet gasped.

"What's Red Energon?" Raf asked.

"An extremely rare and volatile form of Energon. Refined into fuel, it provides the power of hyperspeed."

"We must have Agent Fowler clear the dig site of all human presence, in the event that we are not the only ones who have discovered its location." Optimus said.

"Now you're talking!" Smokescreen shouted, pounding his fists together. "Let's scramble some 'Con circuits!"

Sideways shook his head again in secondhand embarrassment. He looked at Raf again, and scratched his chin.

"Given your limited field experience, I believe further training I required before you are battle-ready."

"Optimus, with all due respect-"

"Furthermore, we Autobots live on this planet as Robots in Disguise. You two will need to obtain earth-based vehicle modes."

"Right." Sideways agreed. "Low profiles."

"If you're talking wheels, bring 'em on!" Smokescreen clapped.

Jack allowed a smile to return to his face from Smokescreen's contagious enthusiasm before Arcee caught his eye and his expression darkened again. Jack walked out of the tunnel and waved for the two new Autobots to follow him, no doubt to take them to the freeway to scope out available vehicle forms.

* * *

As soon as Agent Fowler gave Prime the message letting him know that it was safe a half hour later, Ratchet opened up the Ground Bridge, and Optimus stepped through with Bumblebee.

"Ratchet, we have a problem." Optimus reported.

"Optimus, is something wrong?" Ratchet asked.

"Starscream has come for the Red Energon, and I fear he will not be deterred in his quest."

_Are you sure that this is Starscream, and not Skywarp, Thundercracker, Slipstream, or the like? _

"Starscream? I heard stories about that stiletto-heeled creep back on Cybertron." Smokescreen said as he walked in with Jack and Sideways. "Send me in, Doc."

"Yeah, the two of us might actually be able to handle this, no problem, Doc." Sideways said. "What's he packing, a phase shifter?"

"When Optimus requires backup, he will ask for it." Ratchet insisted.

"Aw, come on." Smokescreen groaned. "We got our V-modes and everything. We're souped up and ready to roll."

"Ep! Ep! Ep! What part of 'further training' did you not understand?"

Smokescreen tapped Sideways on the shoulder and led him down the hall.

"Optimus, what is your status?" Ratchet asked on the comm.

"Ratchet, they need me!" Bulkhead said. "I can do this!"

"Bumblebee?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"I heard," Ratchet snapped as he turned from the screen, "and I'm ignoring you. This may be your opportunity after all, Sidewa-. Where are they?"

Raf pointed at the hallway and Ratchet grumbled and followed them. A minute later, the two of them came back with Ratchet. Smokescreen was holding the Resonance Blaster, attached to his arm-plate.

"Gentlemen, we have a plan!" Sideways declared.

Ratchet nodded and opened up the Ground Bridge. The two bots transformed, Smokescreen into a white and blue sports car, and Sideways into a purple and yellow motorized reverse trike. They both sped through and Ratchet closed the portal behind them.

Raf blacked out again.

* * *

Raf was inside Sideways again, he assumed. He and Smokescreen were on a loading dock, where Optimus and Bumblebee were at the top of a large crane reaching for a crate filled with what Raf assumed was the Red Energon. At the bottom Starscream (And Unicron was wrong, it could only be Starscream), was taking aim at the support with his blasters when he saw the two Autobots arrive.

Sideways and Smokescreen sped to either side of him and transformed up. Starscream looked to either side and grinned somewhat manically. "I see the Autobots have some new recruits!" he cackled. Cackling was really the only word Raf had for the vocalization that Starscream made that seemed to express elation, sadness, and a touch of insanity all at once.

"And you must be Starscream." Smokescreen said.

"You are… much smaller than I remember." Sideways chuckled.

"Oh, and have we met before?" Starscream asked.

"In a manner of speaking, you see, I-."

"Doesn't matter!" Starscream shouted, looking at both of them. "Because I'm going to tear out your sparks with my bare hands!"

"Uh…" Smokescreen said, dropping into a combat stance and looking at Sideways who did the same. "Are you OK there, Scream?"

"OK? I'm more than OK!" Starscream yelled, swapping his blasters out for his claws. "I've never felt more alive!"

What followed was five minutes of a two on one handicap robot smackdown so intense that if Miko knew what she was missing, she might hijack the Ground Bridge to watch it in person. Starscream was a mad dog facing off against a ninja and a maverick, and he was kicking butt like it was his job.

The whole time, he was laughing wildly as he dodged and blocked kick after punch after strike after sweep. Highlights of the fight included Starscream blocking a high jump kick from Smokescreen, slamming him into the ground, and kicking him in the sides only to have Sideways plant his foot into his chest. At one point, Starscream dodged a hit from Sideways, punched him in the face, dropped to the ground, elbowed him in the shins and then met his face with a rising knee strike.

Starscream was a robot possessed, showing no signs of tiring as he relentlessly rained blow after blow upon the two Autobots, each attempt at a takedown resulting only in more strikes at every available weak spot the two had while they tried to grapple.

At times, it resembled a tag-team match more than anything, as Starscream would mercilessly beat down one opponent, direct his attention to another, and incapacitate them just in time for the first one to get back up. Each solid hit against the Seeker would just put him in position to attack his other foe, each attack leading to a reversal that would leave his attacker reeling.

And it wasn't as though Starscream wasn't getting hurt, he was visibly getting damaged after solid blows were landed, but he just wasn't fatiguing, recoiling, or slowing down as he assaulted the two with almost no concern for his own condition. It was as if he had no regard for his own life, only a desire to kill the Autobots. And most of this effort was focused on Sideways, who was clearly the superior combatant of the two warriors. The fight came to an end when, after slamming Smokescreen into a set of shipping crates, Starscream landed three direct hits onto Sideways's face, pulled his arm in, swung him overhead, and slammed him into the ground.

Starscream seemed about ready to tear Sideways' head off when Smokescreen sprinted from the crates, grabbed Starscream's head, and, before the jet had time to react, activated the Resonance Blaster directly next to his cranium. The former air commander went limp immediately, dropping to the ground with a thud and releasing Sideways.

Smokescreen helped him up, and they turned to see that Optimus and Bumblebee had safely lowered the Red Energon and were approaching the scene of the match with weapons drawn.

"Was Starscream always this tough?" Smokescreen asked.

"Megatron isn't even always this tough. Bumblebee buzzed.

"You two have fought more admirably and ferociously than I could have possibly expected." Optimus nodded, turning back to the Red Energon. "Once we get this back to base, Ratchet will want to examine you."

"Not so fast, Autobots!" Starscream shouted from behind them. Sideways turned around to see that his optics were pitch black as if he were offline, and his body's movements were jerky, almost like a puppet. One arm was raised with its rocket pointed vaguely in their direction. "I, who am about to die, salute you!" With a twitch of his finger, Starscream fired the rocket and collapsed for good.

Sideways sprang into action immediately, dashing forward and throwing his body into the path of the rocket. He caught it in one hand and grabbed at Starscream's wrist with the other. Once again, Raf's vision went white.

* * *

No more than five minutes later, a new transmission came through from Optimus, his voice somber. "Ratchet… reopen the Ground Bridge."

Ratchet did so, and Optimus Prime came through, with Bumblebee and Smokescreen behind him, carrying a large crate with a glowing red crystal inside. Smokescreen looked like he had just gone toe to toe with a pile driver.

"Where's Sideways?" Miko asked.

"Sideways did not survive the mission." Optimus sighed. "He sacrificed himself to save our objective… and our lives."

"Whoah." Bulkhead said. "Didn't think he was the type. I had him all wrong. What happened out there?"

"As I said, Starscream had infiltrated the dock where the Red Energon was to be loaded onto a cargo ship. We were fortunate only that he could neither transform nor climb while he had his phase shifter activated. Unfortunately, he had become rather adept at integrating the powers of his relic into his fighting style."

"Basically, you and Bee were getting your butts whooped by Ghost Starscream?" Miko asked.

"Since I do not know what a 'ghost' is, I will tentatively agree. I ordered Bumblebee to secure the Red Energon for Ratchet to bring to base. Starscream had other ideas. One of his rockets put me into stasis for a short time and when I brought myself back to awareness, he had begun climbing the crane to reach Bumblebee, as he was pulling on the steel cable by himself."

"Got himself kicked in the face." Bumblebee buzzed.

"Correct. I knocked him off of the platform and moved to assist Bumblebee, but Starscream simply began firing his blasters at the supports in an attempt to compromise the structure and drown us."

"And that's when Sideways and I came in." Smokescreen said, returning from dropping off the Red Energon. "The two of us fought Starscream, side by side, a real duel of the fates, and we almost won, but…"

"But what?" Ratchet asked.

"Starscream was a sore loser. He tried to fry the Red Energon, and us with it." Smokescreen shook his head. "Sideways grabbed the rocket before it fully detached from Screamer's arm, took the blast point blank. When the smoke cleared, there was just… scrap... and dust."

Miko covered her face in shock. Ratchet sighed, and Bulkhead looked away.

"In war, casualties are an unfortunate consequence." Optimus said after a time. "And while it is easy to say that sacrifices need to be made to secure an objective, it is considerably harder to give up one's own spark for the lives of their teammates, however brief the partnership may have been. Sideways has shown that his spark is that of a true Autobot, and we will mourn his loss. Until that day… 'Till all are one."

"'Till all are one." The other Autobots repeated.

"As for you, Smokescreen, While this may lack the pageantry of a proper Elite Guard ceremony, I wish to welcome you to Team Prime."

The comm rang. "Sideways to Autobot Outpost Omega One. Requesting a Ground Bridge."

"Sideways? Is that you?" Smokescreen asked.

"I'd hope so. Otherwise, I'd be Starscream... and he's in pretty bad shape. Actually, he's in a lot of shapes. He's in pieces, is what I'm saying. He got blown up."

Ratchet activated the Ground Bridge, Sideways stepped through, dinged up from his fight, but otherwise unbroken.

"How'd you survive the blast? We thought you were scrap for sure!"

Sideways held up his wrist, showing off a silvery-blue device. "Phase shifter." He shrugged.

Ratchet perked up, and extended his hand. "Sideways, may I have that for a moment?"

Sideways turned to Optimus, who nodded. Sideways handed the phase shifter to Ratchet, and Ratchet bolted down the hall.

"Where's Ratchet going?" Jack asked. Everybody shrugged.

In a minute, Ratchet came back, beaming at Jack. "Jack, I think you need to help somebody catch up."

"Catch up?"

Ratchet stepped to the side, and Arcee stepped forward into the room. Jack ran down the stairs immediately and hugged the two-wheeler's leg.

Arcee looked down at Jack, then at Bulkhead, and finally at the two new recruits. "I take one nap, and the world as we know it is over?"

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Tremble before my electric heating coil of doom!

-Sweet armor, bro. Must have cost you an arm and a leg.

-In the end it has to be this way.

* * *

AN: Updates might be a bit more spaced out, since I'm going back to school. Next chapter should still come out Sunday, but I'm not 100% sure about the one after that. We'll see.

Sideways' design in this universe is based on the Can-Am Spyder.


	13. Cerberus

"_If the day should ever come when we must go, if some day we are compelled to leave the scene of history, we will slam the door so hard that the universe will shake and mankind will stand back in stupefaction."_

\- Joseph Goebbels, Quadwal Cluster

* * *

As soon as the Scientist saw Seven drop Raf off at the MECH base, he asked about the UFO that crashed on the previous day.

"It was a pair of escape pods, with two new Autobots." Raf explained. "They got blown up, though, so there's nothing to recover."

The Scientist asked if Raf was _sure_ that there were two pods.

"Well, yeah. Two 'bots, two pods."

The Scientist led Raf down the hallway and into his lab, and pointed at a large screen depicting a simulation of the trajectory of an object plummeting to Earth. "Here's the thing, Esquivel. We tracked that pod on its way in, and there was just one." He turned a dial forward and the purple dot moved along a dotted line to Earth's surface until it reached a point in the upper atmosphere, when a red dot appeared next to it. "Until this point here, when a second object just… appeared next to it. Mass of the original one didn't change, and the EMP signature that came with this new one was roughly consistent with your Ground Bridges. Whatever the new one was, it didn't come from space, at least, not in terms of its immediate point of origin."

"So what do you think happened?"

"Honestly, kid, I don't even know what's going on around here half the time anymore, and I _live _here." He gestured to his cluttered desk and half-finished prototypes for devices, the functions of which Raf could not even begin to determine. "At this point I'm just doing mad science and hoping stuff works, and if it doesn't work, then I put some Dark Energon in it and it works. Look at this." The Scientist said, holding up a smashed metal box. "This was a toaster, Rafael. I got bored and took apart a toaster again, put it back together, and it didn't work, so I put some Dark Energon into it. Do you know what it did?

"Uh… It burned the toast?"

"It tried to tap into our reactors." He smashed the remains of the toaster onto the table for emphasis. "It said that it was just 'a death ray with a smaller power supply' and swore to burn the world."

"That's… wow."

"Yep." The Scientist held up a fist shaped crystal in his hand. "This stuff could change the world, kid. All this time Silas wanted an army of transforming drones, and then he decided that he wanted mechsuits, and I went along with it because he's the one with the vision. But this? Just imagine, Rafael, if we had more of this, the sky would be the limit. No. There would be no limits but our imagination. All we'd have to do is attempt any device of which we can conceive, add some of this, and bam, all of our problems could be solved."

Even through the goggles, Raf could see the glint in his eyes. Raf stuck out his hand. "Give me the crystal."

The Scientist shook his head and stared into it. "Not when there's so much more testing to be done."

Raf stepped around the desk and snatched it out of his hand. He watched the crystal glow in time with his pulse, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Hey." Raf snapped his fingers. "Hey! How is Silas?"

The Scientist sighed and gestured for Raf to follow him out of the room, down the hall, past the infirmary, and into Silas's operating room. Standing against the wall was what Raf could only describe as a DoomBot. Standing at the same 8 meters tall as the original Breakdown upon which it was no doubt built, the new mech screamed "run away" at every level of its design, as though its existence was an act of psychological warfare.

Like all of MECH's robots, its proportions were much more faithful to the human form, though its thickset calves ended in a set of clawed feet with tank treads on the back. MECH played up the spikes over the rest of its body as well, which upon closer inspection seemed to be a clever way of disguising the what looked like heating vents or other ports to its weapons payload. With clawed hands resembling Scourge's, though a pale blue instead of Scourge's blood red. Front and center on its chest grille was MECH's silently adopted logo, the only apparent weak spot on the otherwise thickly armored form. Its head, which every design feature seemed intended to direct attention to, appeared to be a replica of Silas's own head, though Raf couldn't tell for sure, as the face was covered by a respirator of dubious necessity on a robot.

"What do you think?" The Scientist asked.

_It isn't exactly in keeping with MECH's normal steampunk aesthetic._

"It's… uh… menacing."

"Let's just hope Silas thinks so."

"Where is he?"

The Scientist pointed at the robot's chest.

Raf took a step forward to inspect it more closely. "You didn't."

"We did."

"Is he… conscious?"

"Well… no. We haven't jumpstarted him yet. We were going to bring him out of the coma when the suit is complete." The Scientist pointed at an empty energon tank on the opposite end of the room. "And I figured that now would be the perfect time to experiment."

"Experiment with what?"

As if on cue, two MECH technicians came in through the door, carrying one of the crates of Dark Energon.

_Yes._

"Wait, No!" Raf'e eyes widened as the two technicians grunted to lift the crate over to the mech. "Are you going to experiment on Silas with Dark Energon?"

"It's like I told you, the substance's effects are partially memetic. It does whatever humans think it should do, and I think that it'll bring our robot to life, just like it did with Scourge." He snapped his fingers and pointed to the Energon tank, and a robotic construction arm lifted it up and brought it next to the mech. One of the technicians attached one of the tubes from the energon tank to the mech-suit, and then moved to assist the other one as they attached the crate to an intake valve. Several MECH agents, including One, Two, Six, and Seven entered the room, followed by what looked like MECH's entire scientific staff, and a few commandos who were on their breaks. One of the technicians pulled a lever and the glow faded from the crate as the tank filled with refined, liquid Dark Energon. It glowed in its contained and Raf felt a warmth in his pocket. He withdrew the crystal and stared into it as it heated up, resonating with the liquid chaos before him.

"Gentlemen!" The Scientist addressed the crowd. Raf blinked and saw that he had left Raf's side and moved to the top of the balcony, at eye level with the mecha. "Today, we bear witness! To the end of an era! To the beginning of a new chapter in human history! We are about to observe the future of human evolution, the perfect meld of man and machine! A future powered by this!" He gestured to the dark energon and paused to gaze into it, running his hands along the glass before continuing. "Our leader fell in battle defending us, his armor failing even as the human inside attempted to fight on! We have kept him alive, a shell of his former self, until such a time came that we could revive him. Now, with the miracle of post-modern science, he will live again! As goes Silas, so goes MECH! No… so goes humanity!"

The crowd cheered, and the dark energon glowed even more brightly, as if it were feeding off of the energy in the room. Raf's eyes were glued to the crystal in his hands. He could swear it was…screaming at him. The Scientist surveyed the room, and turned to the technicians behind him and nodded. They both pulled a second lever, and the Dark Energon drained from the tube into the mech.

Silas screamed.

Raf groaned.

Unicron roared.

And, once again, the world went black.

* * *

"_Silas."_

Raf was experiencing déjà vu. He was once more suspended in the darkness that was Unicron, staring directly into the true face, or at least he assumed it was the true face, of the Chaos Bringer, millions of times larger than he was, only able to fit into his field of view through a trick of perspective. Floating next to him, naked as the day he was born, was Silas, bearing only the scars and damage that he had before the his fight with the Insecticon, and staring fearfully into abyss that was Unicron's eyes while they stared right back.

"_Welcome, Silas."_

"What is this?" Silas asked, lifting an arm to shield his eyes, yet unable to turn away from Unicron's gaze.

"_I… am Unicron."_

"What is happening to me?"

"_I have long awaited this meeting."_

Raf hadn't noticed it the first time, but Unicron's mouth didn't actually move when he spoke. Unicron was actually… projecting into his mind.

"I don't understand… Is this a dream?" Silas looked at his shoulder, inspecting a tattoo that Raf could not discern from that distance. "No. No, I can read. So this is real."

"_Always the thinker, Silas. This pleases me."_

"What do you want from me?" Silas demanded, attempting to suppress his own fear. Was Raf this afraid when this happened? He must have been.

"_Hardly a way to address your creator." _Unicron intoned. _"I would have words with you, Silas. Today we decide upon the fate of humanity."_

"Please, if I had a creator," Silas said, "he wouldn't look like you."

"_So you would think. Perhaps you think he would look like this."_ An image of a bearded Caucasian male in Greek robes stood in front of Silas, eyes glowing purple and features contorted in a wicked smile. _"Or this. Or this. Possibly this." _The avatar shifted through multiple forms, including an African man with the body of a spider below his waist, a tanned figure with an eagle for a face, a pink man with five faces and four arms, a coyote, and a ball of warm purple light, all but the last sharing the same cruel smile and blank, purple eyes before fading away. _"No. Look upon me, and despair in the face of your progenitor. Search your feelings, you know it to be true."_

Silas nodded, if not in acceptance, then to make Unicron stop. "But then, what did you mean, the fate of humanity? Are these the end times? Am I supposed to be some sort of prophet? I admit, I didn't exactly think I was the type."

"_Oh rest assured, Silas, that you are exactly what I am looking for in a herald."_

"A herald?" Silas scratched his chin. "So this is the end of the world?"

"_As you know it, perhaps. But by all means, this is only the beginning. The beginning of a new, better world, for new, better men."_

"I'm listening."

"_Do not listen." _Unicron instructed, raising a humongous hand beneath the both of them._ "Look." _

Unicron's maw opened and a multitude of hands reached out and pulled Silas in. Silas struggled helplessly against them until Unicron's mouth closed. Silas's screams echoed throughout the infinite emptiness until he appeared back in his original position a minute later.

"_Do you see?"_ Unicron asked.

"Yes." Silas said, grinning from ear to ear, almost manic. "I see! I understand!"

"See what?" Raf asked. "I don't understand?"

Silas turned his head to face Raf. "Rafael! I've seen it!"

"Silas, seen what?" At this point, Raf didn't know who was scaring him more.

"The truth! The path that humanity must take! I know what MECH must do!"

"Why are you being so vague?"

Silas turned away and began to mutter rapidly to himself. "The resource requirements will be astronomical. So many favors. The time is right…"

"Silas?"

"_Silas."_

"Yes, my lord?" Silas asked, his voice now reverent.

"_Will you go forth and seize your birthright? Will you do as I have shown?"_

"Yes!" Silas nodded furiously. "I accept your terms! I accept!"

"_Excellent. Enjoy your new life."_

"My what?"

Unicron blew, and as his breath pushed past Silas, his flesh stripped away from his arms and legs until they were completely gone, and his body was covered in all of the new scars he had received in the fight with the Insecticon.

"What is happening?" Silas demanded, looking down at his amputated form.

"_Awaken, Cyclonus."_ Unicron smiled, and the world returned to darkness.

* * *

Raf blinked and he was standing in the crowd again. Everybody was watching the mech with bated breath. The optics glowed with green light and focuses for a moment, and looked around.

"Welcome back, sir." The Scientist greeted.

"What have you done?" Silas's voice asked, as the robot inspected his hands an body.

"What we needed to in order to save you, Silas."

"I'm one of them…"

"The logical evolution of MECH's experiments and biotech." The Scientist declared. "Your brain fused with the donor's nervous and skeletal systems, with our own modifications, of course."

"The perfect meld of man and machine." Silas muttered. "Exquisite."

"Sir, how do you feel?" Seven asked, once the crowd died down. "What are your orders?"

"Thank you all, for your dedication and a lifetime of service." Silas nodded to himself as he stepped forward. "Today, we commence Operation… Titanomachy."

"Sounds exciting." MECH-1 nodded.

Silas began walking out of the room, testing his range of motion and, finding himself satisfied, gestured for everybody to step back. Once they did, Silas dropped into a combat, took a deep breath, and transformed into a Snow Cat arctic-assault half tracked armored vehicle. He rolled down the window partially, looking out at Rafael, Seven, the Scientist, and MECH-1, his scarred face and mass of cables visible if Raf looked carefully.

"MECH-7, you will be my backup, MECH-1, tell Scourge to prepare to infiltrate the Colorado Secured Servers HQ. From there, his mission will become self-evident." He turned to the Scientist. "You are the handler for this mission." Finally, he looked down to Raf. "Follow the Scientist and have your laptop ready, Rafael. You're going… data-mining"

Everybody saluted, and ran in the direction of their respective vehicles. Raf followed the Scientist as he broke into a sprint towards the main command building. Raf had no trouble keeping up with the grown man, thank Unicron, but he was still surprised at just how energetic he was now. The Scientist stopped in front of the door to catch his breath, composed himself, and strode in past the guards with Rafael, his slightly stiff motions the only hint as to his true excitement.

* * *

Alden Military Base was pretty out of the way, even by the standards of most federal installations in the State of Nevada. The only path to this base in the middle of the desert was a single unpaved dirt road just wide enough for a single car or, if need be, a tank, to drive through. From the outside, its security system amounted to a barbed wire fence and four watchtowers. From satellite imagery, the only strange thing about the base was that it seemed to contain more than its fair share of ordinance, with rows of tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets strewn about the grounds. But even that was only if a person had too much time on their hands to notice these things. All in all, the base was the very platonic form of "nondescript". You almost didn't need guards to turn you away, because by the time the base came into view above the desert horizon, you would know that you were lost, unless it was your destination in the first place.

Of course, that must have meant that it was hiding something, which was why Silas headed straight there, with MECH-7 and a few other ground M-cons behind him in convoy. His Vehicle form was equipped with interior dashcam feeds of Silas's face, as well as out his windshield and of his mirrors. The Scientist explained that the mirror feeds also routed to an implant in Silas's right eye. At the speed they were going, Raf was concerned that they were on a combat mission to blitz the base, but Silas pulled to a stop at the main gate, really just a swinging bar, as the guard stepped out to check on the driver. Silas cracked down his window, and introduced himself as Colonel Leland Bishop.

The guard stiffened, and looked at the five cars trailing behind him. "A light shineth in the darkness." He whispered.

"And the darkness comprehended it not." Silas answered.

"Evacuate the base?"

"That would be best."

The guard stepped back into his booth and pulled up the intercom. Raf didn't hear what he said, but a minute later, choppers began lifting out of the base and leaving in the opposite direction. The guard saluted Silas and ran off to make it to the last copter out.

"Alright, everyone. Follow me." Silas said, transforming up. He pointed at an unlabeled warehouse near the entrance to the base, and dragged a finger on the walls. Nodding, he drew his fists back and forced his robotic palm through it, leaving the wall crumbling. He walked in, gesturing for Seven and the others to follow. They also transformed up and walked through the hole, and Silas searched the building's curiously spacious hallways until he found what looked like a giant briefcase. He wrapped his fingers around the handle, took a deep breath, likely out of habit, and ripped it off of the bolts securing it to the ground. Dropping it immediately back to the ground. "Who knew this automatons could feel fatigue?" He wondered aloud, and dragged it behind him as he walked back to the hole in the building, but paused before stepping outside when he heard the sound of a Ground Bridge activating. He turned back to Seven. "Let me handle this."

"Breakdown, where have you…" Raf heard Knockout's voice ask as Silas stepped out of the smoke and rubble. He took a step back as he beheld Silas's new form. "Breakdown… what happened to you?"

"Therein lies a tale." Silas answered, sizing up Knockout and the five air Vehicons behind him. "Which won't be nearly as interesting to Megatron as _this._" In a quick motion, he dropped the object he was holding and dashed forward kneeing Knockout directly in the gut.

Despite lacking lungs, Knockout wheezed from the impact and looked down to survey the damage. His fender was bent. Knockout looked up at Silas in shock.

"I'm sorry, are you in need of repairs?" Silas mocked. "I know a doctor who can make you all… _better_."

"I _JUST _FIXED THIS!" Knockout shouted, shaking his head in anger at his ruined body work and waved for the Vehicons to attack, and they stepped forward to cover their commander.

"Unless you plan on donating your husks to the MECH war effort, I suggest you step aside." Silas smiled. "I have a message to relay."

The Vehicons swapped out their hands for blasters.

"MECH appreciates your patronage." Silas said, running forward to the closest one, pushing his blaster up as it fired, and sending the shot harmlessly through the air. Silas spun around and judo flipped it into the ground, and jumped back, slamming his body into the Vehicon that had moved behind him. He reached back, grabbed the dazed drone by the head, and flipped its whole body over, slamming it into the first Vehicon that was attempting to stand back up. Turning around to face the other three he pointed his wrists at them and flexed the fingers, causing to panels to open around his forearm as a dozen small missiles streaked out, twisting through the air before pelting their targets, blasting them to bits.

Knockout, engrossed in surveying himself, looked up the fight just in time to see Silas's fist heating straight for his face, sending him flat on his back. Silas straddled Knockout's waist and laughed. "Does this sight bring back memories, alien? Or were you usually the one on top?"

Knockout blinked as he processed Silas's rather cruel joke. "Wait, what?" he asked, before Silas punched him in the face again. He struggled to lift his head out of the dirt before Silas punched him in the chest, and then the stomach, then the chest again, and fell into a rhythm of raining blow after blow against the Medic's upper body.

Knockout groaned weakly after a particularly nasty hit to the solar plexus and his systems began to beep. Silas scoffed and slapped Knockout lightly in the cheek. "What, are you dying? No, no, you can't die yet. I have to ask you how you found me." Silas stood up and yanked Knockout out of the ground, lifting him by the neck.

Knockout coughed. "Breakdown's… transponder signal… Nemesis…" And then fell into stasis.

Silas frowned and tossed him to the two Vehicons still alive that were stumbling to their feet. They caught their medic automatically and looked at Silas. "Take that to your leader," Silas looked at the three dead Vehicons, "clean up that trash, and listen carefully. Tell Megatron that he's already destroyed his own world. We will stop him from destroying ours by any means necessary."

A Ground Bridge opened up behind them, and the two Vehicons carried Knockout's unconscious form through, and Silas gestured for the Seven and the others to come out, and they tossed the Vehicon corpses through the closing portal.

"Alright, get that back to base." Silas said, retrieving a utility trailer and hitching it to the back of Seven's car and placing the box on it.

"You aren't coming with us?" Seven asked.

"Not while the Decepticon ship can trace my every move." Silas shook his head. "Rafael, I'm allowing you into my systems. See if you can't find a way to stop that from happening."

"On it." Raf said, hooking up his laptop to the MECH servers and looking until he found the CYCLONUS operating system, which Raf had to assume was what Silas's mech was called.

The Scientist sure didn't waste any time reviewing his code for this mess. Raf could actually see bits of Cybertronian code littering the program that he must have just left in having no idea what it was for. This would take hours to-

_Minutes._

No, hours, to make sure that he didn't leave Silas totally paralyzed or without life support or cross a wire from his crank case to his drive shaft.

"In the meantime, I'll head over to assist MECH-1 and Scourge… Or I would, if it wasn't a sixteen hour drive. Blast it." Silas hit a mental roadblock as he contemplated his next move. "Well, the Decepticons will no doubt return to strike at me in greater numbers. Maybe…" Silas placed a finger to his ear and activated another communicator. "Autobot Outpost Omega One. This is Silas. Come in Autobots."

No reply.

"Rafael, call the Autobots."

Rafael pulled out his cell phone and called the base. No answer. Jack. Straight to voicemail. Miko?

"Y'ello?" Miko answered.

"Miko, It's me, Raf. Are you at the base?"

"Yep, why?"

"What about Jack?"

"Said he couldn't come. Agent Fowler needed him for something and wouldn't tell us."

"And the other Autobots?"

"All here."

"Then why aren't they answering their calls?"

"Uh…" Miko's tone became hushed. "Ratchet pretty much blew up on Optimus about talking to MECH earlier. This thing with Wheeljack's really eating him."

"Well tell him that this is kind of an emergency." Raf said.

Miko pulled the phone away and shouted something. A second later, Ratchet was patched through.

"Yes, Rafael? You say that there is an emergency?" The smugness in his tone was clear. "Are you having a problem with our, *ahem* allies?"

"Silas needs a Ground Bridge, Ratchet." Raf pleaded. "He's being tracked by Decepticons."

"Oh, MECH hasn't stripped Ground Bridge technology from some Decepticon's drives or something? They're getting soft."

Raf couldn't believe this conversation was happening. "Ratchet this is seriously an emergency!"

"Are you going to die?"

"Well _I'm _ not, but-"

"Then it isn't an emergency."

"But Silas-"

"Is a terrorist." Ratchet said flatly. "And it was one thing to allow Seven and Scourge through, but I would sooner be turned to slag by Unicron's digestive acids than allow Silas into our base."

"Let me speak to Optimus, Ratchet."

"No."

The transmission cut.

"Ratchet? Ratchet?! Ratchet!" Raf shouted desperately into the phone. "Silas…"

"The Autobots aren't going to bail me out of this?" Silas sighed.

"No. They aren't."

The Scientist pinched the bridge of his nose. "OK, Silas. You have three options. You can drive back to base so we can remove the tracking device, but the Decepticons will know that we're here. You can stay where you are, and let the military and the 'Cons come to you and then wait to be captured or killed. Or, and I personally recommend this, you could go a buck twenty down I-70 and don't stop for anything until you get to Scourge and the Sweeps."

"That's still… six hours!" Silas shouted, fear creeping into his voice.

_No, no. This simply will not do._

"Sir, we've got problems." One of the M-Con's shouted.

Silas turned to look in their directions as a Ground Bridge opened above them, and Insecticons began to spill out.

"Looks like I'm driving!" Silas announced as he transformed down and sped south out the main road, his convoy speeding alongside him.

Raf tore himself away from the live feed to keep working on fixing up the coding. From the few quick glances he took at the feed, a dozen or more Insecticons were following Silas as he tore through the empty road, weaving in and out of laser fire.

"Sir… hitting the main road would compromise opsec on so many levels." The Scientist realized.

"Then I'm offroading!" Silas said, taking a hard left off of the road onto the bumpy desert. The M-Cons didn't follow.

"Yeah… our cars can't handle that, sir." One of them said. "We'll shake them and get back to base. Good luck."

"Wonderful." Silas mumbled. The rearview adjusted and Silas saw that most of the Insecticons had turned to follow him, and one had stayed to attack the cars. The cars adjusted to robot mode and began filling the air with anti-air fire until the straggler exploded in a shower of metal carapace, and then began taking potshots at the Insecticons following their leader.

Raf looked back at the code. It was definitely the Cybertronian fragments that were the problem. Seriously, how on earth did the Scientist manage to put this together? _Why _did he put it together?

"Hey Silas." Raf said. "You know you can access your missile targeting system in vehicle mode, right?"

"I can?" Silas asked. The HUD activated and the Insecticons became highlighted. "Well Merry Christmas to me." Silas grinned, and a swarm of rockets of varying sizes began pouring out of the back, striking the Insecticons in the air and filling the view with fire and smoke.

In the meantime, Raf thought he found the issue. Deleting several offending lines of code, he updated the system.

"Alright Silas, I think you're bug-free." Raf announced. "Figuratively, anyway. Commencing update."

"Excellent." Silas nodded. "And just in time for the literal way."

Nothing happened.

"Rafael…" Silas said his voice rising as the dust cleared and three Insecticons emerged unscathed.

"Uh... advanced systems are down while the system is being patched." Raf said weakly. "It was that or a full restart."

_Why should such a small system update require such inconvenience?_

Maybe between the two of them, they could finally figure it out because nobody on Earth knew either.

"Well as much as I appreciate the work Rafael-" A bright green flash appeared in front of Silas, and he was suddenly in the woods surrounded by satellite dishes. "I'm about to be shut… down?"

"Sir, what happened? You're… in Colorado." The Scientist said, and turned to Raf. "I thought you said that he wasn't getting a Ground Bridge."

"I thought so too…" Raf said. "Silas, where are you?"

"The Colorado Secured Servers Headquarters." Megatron rasped. "I don't know what was so precious that you came here the old fashioned way instead of through the Autobot Base for once, but rest assured that you will not have it."

Silas backed up to see Megatron standing nearly fifty feet tall wearing what Raf had to assume was the Apex Armor, surrounded by disabled Sweeps. Held straight up above his head, his back bent over his palm, was Scourge, who Megatron unceremoniously dumped in front of Silas. Scourge groaned and peered through Silas's windshield in confusion.

"Megatron…" Silas said, attempting to keep cool. "We meet at last."

"So _you_ are the human who has been causing me so much trouble." Megatron laughed. "I must say, I am far from impressed."

"Humanity does nothing if not exceed expectations, alien." Silas said, his eye drifting to the progress bar that was still hovering at around fifty percent.

"As I have learned." Megatron growled. "For example, I expected you to be some seven hundred miles from this location, yet fate has literally dumped you at my feet." He pointed at Scourge as well. "The list of beings that can stand against Soundwave, much less defeat him, is short indeed. Worry not, I will not underestimate you insects again. For you, however… er…"

"Silas?"

"_Silas_. I have only one request from you."

"And what would that be?"

"_Die._"

Silas reversed just in time to get out of the way of Megatron's foot as it attempted to stomp down on him.

"This doesn't need to be difficult, worm." Megatron snarled, lumbering after Silas as he managed a three point turn and began driving away. "We all must die sometime."

"Not today, Megatron!"

"Oh yes!" Megatron countered, swinging his foot into the side of the truck, rolling it onto the ground until it landed back upright. "Today! And when you fall, I will exterminate every last one of your abominations. Or maybe I will save them for last after I scour this world clean of its filth!"

"MECH won't die if I do, Megatron!" Silas said, driving between Megatron's legs. Seventy-five percent. "MECH is an idea. Bigger than me, bigger than you!"

"Oh I disagree." Megatron laughed. "I'm quite big."

Silas pulled behind one of the dishes in the array. "MECH is about seizing mankind's destiny!"

"Oh really?" Megatron asked, lumbering towards the array and pulling out a dish from its base in an attempt to locate Silas. "And just what would that destiny be?"

"To claim our rightful place among the stars!" Silas said. "As an independent race! As builders! As conquerors!"

"Oh a most noble and valiant goal." Megatron mocked from directly above Silas. "But there's one problem with this destiny of yours."

"And what's that?" Silas asked. One hundred percent.

"It's _mine_." Megatron grasped the truck with both hands and lifted it above his head, just before Silas transformed and pushed himself out of the giant tyrant's grip. Silas sprinted back into the clearing where Megatron couldn't trap him like that and stood with his arms outstretched. Megatron charged out from the satellite array, knocking them over as he ran, and barreled towards Silas. Silas targeted Megatron and selected full salvo, and another mass of rockets launched from panels all over his body, scoring direct hits on and around Megatron, who barreled straight through and slammed shoulder first into Silas, sending him flying into the wall of the building.

Silas groaned and pulled himself out of the indentation, collapsing the second wall that day. "What is that armor made of?" He asked.

"Hate!" Megatron shouted, and swung his fists into Silas's side, sending him close to the woods. Standing up, Silas's HUD noted that Scourge had reclaimed consciousness and was crawling, one elbow at a time, towards the building. Silas snapped back to attention just in time to block a running punch form Megatron, ducking beneath it and blasting rockets at the armor's knees and ankles to no avail. Megatron laughed and began raining blows at Silas that the MECH leader was barely managing to dodge despite the armor slowing his enemy down. "Humans… claiming to be superior, yet your choice of weapon betrays your beliefs in the true superior lifeform. Everything you achieve, you do by standing on the shoulders of giants."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, alien." Silas retorted. "This isn't biological synthesis; this is the perfect meld of man and machine! Your claims to being life are dubious at best. You're drones, alien. Robots. Automatons. Fit for nothing more than to save us labor."

"You would have done well on Cybertron." Megatron laughed. "The High Council thought very much the same thing about me, until I tore them apart." Megatron was pressing the attack as Silas did his best to keep him occupied and distract him from Scourge.

"Then they knew you were defective!" Silas blocked an overhead blow and was pushed six feet into the dirt. "You had a purpose, and you deviated! What were you? A farmer, perhaps? Had some dangerous thoughts about independence? Wanted to prove yourself as a racer? No…" Silas boosted up and pushed Megatron over, and prepared to strike at the glass covering his face. "Your voice says 'miner' and your attitude says… fighter? Mercenary? Gladiator?" Silas sent his fist forward, only for Megatron to catch it and fling him into the air. He landed on his back and stumbled to stand back up as Megatron approached, his face absolutely enraged. Silas was still smiling and wheezing, and transformed down to lead Megatron on another chase around the area. "Don't be so down on yourself, abomination. We humans did the same thing to our own, but then again, we stopped doing it long before we even dreamed of interplanetary travel. Just more advanced than your kind, I suppose. Say, that actually does remind me. Is Megatron even your original name? It certainly doesn't follow the trend of the others of your kind."

Megatron roared and pointed his fist at the fleeing Silas, but nothing happened.

"If you want to use that fusion cannon, you're going to need to ditch the armor." Silas teased. "Where was I? Oh right, your name. Yes, you definitely took that from somewhere, but what was your original name? I seem to recall one Autobot calling you 'Buckethead' at one point, now that makes far more sense. Or maybe… you didn't even have a name!" Silas laughed.

Megatron's eyes went wide.

"Yes that's it, isn't it?!" Silas transformed up and was standing across from Megatron, back where they had started. "Of course! Were you just one of many identical automatons? Were your masters kind enough to give you a number at least?"

Megatron didn't respond.

"A number." Silas laughed. "Was it a low number at least? Were you at least number one?"

Nothing. Raf looked at his laptop and noticed that some new files were coming in. "Project Damocles Satellite Interface Codes".

"Number… twelve? Were you number twelve in your line? Well, no shame, in that. I'm sure if they made it to number sixteen or so, they would have gotten something _useful_."

Megatron tapped his chest, and his armor began folding in on itself, until it collapsed into a single chest plate. He tossed it up, and a ground bridge appeared to swallow it and then closed.

"What, are you mad-" Silas said before Megatron leapt forward and firmly planted his knees into his chest.

"I. AM. MEGATRON!" Megatron bellowed, punctuating each word with a lightning-fast punch to Silas's chest. From the internal cam, the armor was beginning to visibly dent.

Raf's laptop beeped. Download complete.

"Silas. It's done." The Scientist said.

"Not a moment too soon," Silas muttered, and a very large rocket launcher flipped over his shoulder and blasted Megatron point blank in the face, sending him flying off of Silas before he flipped in midair and landed on his feet, rubbing his eyes and fumbling about. Silas scrambled to his feet. "You see Megatron, you've constantly been overlooking the one thing that's been giving Optimus Prime the advantage, at least on this world."

"Oh really?" Megatron demanded, rubbing his eyes. "And what would that be?"

"The human factor!" A new voice shouted, with a thick Chicago accent. Floodlights shined on the three of them in the clearing. The sound of helicopters filled the area.

"Precisely," Silas said, "the human- wait, what?" Silas looked up to see himself surrounded by United States Military choppers. "If only Breakdown were alive to see this." Silas shielded his eyes.

"This is General Bryce of the United States Army, and you fellas are trespassing on the property of the United States Department of Defense. Now we can do this the easy way, or the fun way."

"More flies, buzzing around me!" Megatron said, blasting blindly at one of the helicopters with his fusion cannon.

"The fun way it is. Boys, go after the big bad first. Leland can watch."

Dozens of men began jumping out of the helicopters. Silas zoomed in on each of them and saw that they were all wearing some kind of exo-suit. Raf recognized them as bearing a not-so-passing similarity to the suit Jack had worn while he was on Cybertron.

As they fell, small thrusters on their backs activated to slow their descent until they all landed relatively softly on the ground. Immediately, the group, Raf estimated their numbers at around fifty, ran to circle Megatron.

"Fools!" Megatron shouted, clearing his sight and looking at the humans surrounding him. "Do you know who I am?"

The soldiers didn't respond, and pointed their rifled straight up and fired, launching what looked like grappling hooks over Megatron, covering him in crisscrossing cables. Each soldier grabbed the hook of the soldier opposite him and attached it to their rifle, and jammed it into the ground.

"A net?" Megatron laughed, testing the material. "Really?"

"Clear!" One of the soldiers shouted, and the others backed away from the circle as electricity coursed through the cables, visibly arcing into Megatron's body and burning him at the points of contact.

Now, Megatron wasn't the type to howl in pain, but from the expression in his eyebrows alone, Raf could tell that the power coursing through him was nothing to trifle with. Megatron spasmed and dropped to his knees, each attempt to tear out of the trap only entangled him further.

"OK, _now_ do Leland." Bryce ordered.

A few soldiers detached from the main group and began the same maneuver as before on Silas. Silas saw it coming and grabbed two of the wires in mid-air, and swung his arms to whip the soldiers into the air. At the top of their arc, the two unlucky soldiers activated their boosters and landed on Silas's shoulders. Firing their hooks at the ground, they hopped off of him and rappelled down, the sides of the robot while the others continued the process, and soon Silas too was writhing in his harness.

Megatron jerked his arms and brought a finger to his ear. "Soundwave! I require a Ground Bridge!" he shouted before he collapsed.

Immediately, a portal appeared behind Megatron, and Dreadwing hopped out, five Vehicons in tow. Surveying the situation, he used his sword to cleave through the cables holding Megatron and blasted at the devices supplying the charge, and grabbed his leader. The Vehicons provided covering fire while he pulled Megatron back through the portal. Scourge seized the opportunity and rushed Silas, grabbing him as he ran away from the installation. Silas transformed, and Scourge did the same, holding him, and shoved him into his bomb-bay before blasting off west, towards the MECH base.

* * *

Two hours later, both Scourge and Silas were standing in the repair chamber at the main MECH base. Two dozen technicians were running from scaffold to scaffold, making repair welds and rooting around to fix up internal circuitry. Raf had greeted them immediately upon arrival and had taken up semi-permanent seating on Scourge's shoulder, watching MECH in action.

As they worked on reapplying the composite material and radio absorbent paint to Scourge's armor, a large robotic arm detached Silas's dented chest armor, exposing the man within.

Missing an arm and a leg, with tubes sticking out of his skull and chest tethering him to a robot body had only made Silas happier. He was sustaining actual conversation with the technicians, happily supplying them with information on everything from latency issues to the ergonomics of his harness. That his real head and his robot head spoke with the same voice and made the same motions at the same time was only slightly disconcerting.

Some of the technicians were concerned with possible brain damage when many of Silas suggestions were variations on "more missiles", "bigger missiles", and "maybe replace this subsystem with a missile launcher?" But Silas showed them footage of when he fought the Insecticons and the technicians agreed that, indeed, missiles were cool and Silas needed more of them.

"Silas, are you gonna explain what happened back there?" the Scientist asked as he walked into the room. "Was that really General Bryce?"

"Indeed it was, is there a problem?"

"General Bryce is onto us. Yes, we have a problem."

"Relax, even on a sober day, Bryce couldn't incapacitate a paraplegic sloth. He's hardly a threat to us."

"Silas, his commandos took down _Megatron_. They almost took down you and Scourge."

"I know. I was there. We were tired from our battle; of course they almost bested us. We were unaware. But now we know what we're up against, and we won't be susceptible to their tricks anymore. Next time that self-important busybody tries to interfere with our operations his victory probabilities will be… marginal."

"I feel like we should be more worried, Silas. The Autobots are turning their backs on us. Megatron hates our guts. The military is this close to just starting a war on domestic terror-"

"So we are, at worst, back where we were six months ago, except now we have an army of transforming mechs."

The Scientist just shook his head.

"Well what would you suggest?" Silas asked, as a repaired chest plate was attached to his body. "That I assassinate him? Nothing really throws off attention like the killing of a four-star general by his superior yet disgraced rival."

"I think we should lay low. Mission creep is starting to set in, Silas. I mean really? Stealing Project Damocles? How did you plan to launch this? We don't exactly have a space program."

"I assure you," Silas stood up. "MECH has been the result of twenty years of plotting and proselytizing. What I do now is part of a larger operation that will be the culmination of everything that we, and by we I mean 'I', have worked for."

"And am I going to get anything about this plan besides the name?"

"No."

"And you aren't making it up as you go along?"

Silas extended a metal hand to the Scientist. "Pinky swear."

"By the way, Scourge, good job on hunting down those access codes."

Scourge nodded. "It's what I do."

"Now that we got them off Raf's computer, I was actually thinking we integrated them into your weapons system and the CYCLONUS OS."

"And that's why you're the head scientist." Silas nodded.

"Thank me when I find a way to launch this thing into orbit." The Scientist paused for a moment. "Rafael, now would be a good time to explain to me how Ground Bridges work."

"Right, I guess I did promise you that." Raf sighed and pulled up the schematics for the basic Ground Bridge system that the Autobots had in their base, and sent the schematics to the Scientist. "Now, the Decepticons have one that's even more advanced than this one. I'm pretty sure they can open portals to anywhere in the ship, but this one always has to have one end open at the main device."

The Scientist began scrolling through the data Rafael sent him. First slowly, then quickly skimming through. He shook his head and began to laugh. "It's so simple! How could we have…!" He turned to Silas. "Sir, we could probably construct a working prototype of this in a few hours if we try!"

"Really?" Silas said.

"Granted, we may need to 'borrow' some targeting data from any operatives we may have in NORAD, but… wow." The Scientist pulled over a technician and showed him the blueprints, and the technician hit himself in the face and chuckled.

"Then get working on it at your earliest convenience." Silas nodded.

Once they were both repaired, Scourge gestured for Rafael to step off of him, and looked at the sky. "It's 21:30." He noted. "And Rafael is here, and not at his house."

The Scientist groaned. "Honestly, kid. We should just send a letter to your parents telling them that you're going to… some kind of sleepaway camp for robotics geniuses." He pulled up his comm. "Seven, we need-"

"On it." Seven responded. "At this point it's all I do."

* * *

Halfway back to Jasper, Raf realized that he hadn't eaten all day. Likely because of Unicron, he didn't really _need _to, but all the same, he felt incredibly hungry, and he said as much to Seven.

Seven agreed and pulled into the KO Burger drive-thru, and ordered two super combos with extra fries. When they pulled up to the pickup window, Raf asked if Jack Darby was there that day.

The teen at the window shook his head. Jack Darby hadn't worked at the KO Burger in weeks. Raf shook his head as he received his food. That couldn't possibly be right.

Seven pulled into a parking space. "If we're eating in the car, we're not moving. You're still a twelve year old kid, and I don't want you ruining my seats."

Raf would have objected, but why speak when there was food to put in his mouth? Seven turned on the radio as he opened his food. It was the Jasper News.

"-attack on Alden Military Base just hours before a simultaneous terrorist attack in Colorado."

Uh oh.

Seven turned the radio up.

"General Bryce has this to say:" The anchor said.

"At 16:30 hours today, two military facilities were assaulted by the paramilitary terrorist group known as MECH, led by one _former_ Colonel Leland Bishop. The projects that they stole are classified at this time, but I assure you that they now pose a grave threat to the domestic and foreign interests of the United States of America. They believe in an antiquated and barbaric ideology opposed to democracy, capitalism, and those who they perceive as weak. They have participated in acts of kidnapping, torture, and organ theft. The Pentagon has empowered me to enact the NEST protocol, the details of which will be shared at a later date. But as of now, MECH, its affiliates, and _former _Colonel Bishop are officially traitors to the United States of America."

That was bad. Raf reached for his last fry and realized that he had eaten it all. Had he really been that hungry?

Seven didn't say anything after the report concluded. He finished his food and pulled out of the KO Burger parking lot, towards Raf's house.

Unfortunately, he couldn't make it, because the fire trucks were in the way.

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Speak softly, and carry a big stick.

-I got no strings, to hold me down...

-Megatron has a LOT of small stones to carry away.

* * *

AN: Updates _should_ come out next Sunday as scheduled, but I might be late on that. This chapter right here is the longest I've written. Twice as long as most of the others. Buckle your seatbelts, because the ride only gets bumpier.

Silas/Cylas/CYCLONUS' design in this universe is based on TFU Snow Cat.


	14. Swordplay

"_I believe the phrase is: "Total Ownage, n00b."_

\- Isaac Sumdac, Malgus Cluster

* * *

No.

_No._

Nope.

_Negative._

Nuh-uh.

_Bad._

In the course of Rafael's chemistry research, he had come across stories of people who had attempted to manufacture methamphetamines. The process required a variety of solvents that would evaporate, filling the room in which they were kept. One of these ingredients was ammonium nitrate, a crystalline solid that had uses ranging from agricultural fertilizer to a mining explosive. The fumes from the meth lab would encounter a spark, a pilot light, or someone foolish enough to smoke a cigarette; causing the whole set up to combust and creating explosions that would blast the sides off of houses.

The pictures were scary.

Raf's house looked worse than that.

From Seven's window, the only hint that there had been a structure there was the blast crater that took its place, and the bits of wood, steel, and brick that littered the street.

His family. What happened to his Mama. To Pilar. He had to see, he had to…

The locks on the car clicked and Raf felt Seven's hand pressing down on his chest, pinning him to the seat as the agent peered out the windshield. "Don't move." He ordered.

Don't move? _Don't MOVE?_ Who did Seven think he was? This was _his _house! He looked down at the hand holding him. Did Seven think he was strong? Raf could tear off his arm and use it to smash the windows. Nobody kept him inside a car. Nobody had the right to-

"Something's not right." Seven continued, relaxing his hand. "This is a small town, the fire station was ten blocks from here. No way did this house burn down that fast. Our agents would have warned me as soon as it started." Seven shifted gears and began backing away. Away from Raf's house. Away from his destination.

"Let me out." Raf ordered.

"Not until I figure out what's going on." Seven said, ignoring him. Defying him. "That car doesn't have plates, and I've never seen it around here. Definitely not Fowler's either."

Raf's attention was directed towards a black Ford Taurus on the other end of the block, its windows tinted too black for the driver to be made out.

"MECH-7 to Prometheus Watch. Come in." Seven said into his comm.

No response, just static.

"MECH-7 to Jasper units, report."

Still nothing.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Seven said, and pulled out a camera to take pictures of the… of the blast site.

When its headlights on the mystery car turned on and its engine started, Seven quickly shifted gears again and turned the corner, speeding back the way they came, away from Jasper, away from the Autobot base, and away from his house. Raf closed his eyes in the seat, and for what he would look back and remember as the third time that day, he lost consciousness.

* * *

"Is _this_ what you learned from Alpha Trion?" Ratchet demanded of Smokescreen. "I highly doubt that he would have condoned such irresponsible behavior."

Raf looked around. He was back in the Autobot base? The other bots were looking at him. Well, him and Smokescreen. Not with confusion, just with… guilt.

Wait, how was he at eye level with them? He looked down… to see Sideways' body. Raf jumped back, or tried to anyway. But he wasn't in control.

_Hey, I missed you rattlin' around in my noggin, master._

That was Sideways' voice again. What was going on?

_Speed racer here transformed in front of one of the locals and threatened him._

Right but how was he _here_?

_We… drove back?_

"Blowing your cover is _not_ OK." Arcee scolded.

"Sorry, guys." Smokescreen said, "I know I really messed up."

"While Ratchet and Arcee are correct," Optimus said as he arrived in the base, "I believe that we are all _equally_ responsible for this incident."

"Us?" Arcee asked.

"How?" Ratchet groaned.

"We weren't even there!" Bulkhead said.

"Yeah, come on." Bee beeped.

"Well… he and Sideways were."

"Come on!" Bumblebee shook his head at Bulk for selling them out. Raf noted that Bulkhead seemed to have recovered from his injuries, walking and moving without any signs of pain.

"Our recent efforts have been so intensely focused on averting crises," Optimus said, "that we have overlooked simple matters, such as teaching Smokescreen and Sideways how to best function on this planet. It is an oversight that must be corrected."

_What? I know plenty about the maggots on this rock._

Is that how Sideways viewed this world and its people?

_Oh! I, uh… no, of course not! I forgot myself for a second there, these life forms are reflections of you, master, I didn't mean… sorry._

"Optimus, I'm honored to train under you, and will do whatever it takes to make things right. To make you proud. Right Sideways?" Smokescreen asked.

_Shine his hubcaps, why don't you?_

"Uh… yeah." Sideways actually said.

"Perhaps the best way for you two to learn about the human world is _from_ a human." Optimus suggested.

"Both of them get their own partners?" Arcee questioned.

"Puh-lease…" Ratchet scoffed. "Isn't having three humans here enough?"

The entire room turned to look at Ratchet. What was that supposed to mean?

_He was forged in a different time, boss?_

Ratchet sighed and turned back to his computer. Not so much as an apology to Miko.

_If it makes you feel that upset, I could just say something. Unless it would blow cover. Would it?_

Raf didn't know what was going on anymore.

_That's a first._

It really was.

"I was referring to ones already among us." Optimus continued, turning to Miko. "I would send Jack with you, but he is not answering our calls."

"Um… Sure, Optimus." Miko said. "Robots in Disguise-"

_Do do do do doooo_

"Traffic laws," Miko continued, "don't beat down humans. I can bring them up to speed."

"We've all put in curbside duty." Bulkhead reassured the two of them, placing a hand on their shoulders. "Part of the gig."

"Then let's go for a drive, teach." Smokescreen said as Miko climbed down the ladder and hopped into the driver's seat. Smokescreen tore out immediately, and Arcee turned to Raf, no, Sideways, and then to Optimus.

"Optimus, with all due respect, Agent Fowler is out investigating what happened to Raf's house. Meanwhile Smokescreen, in all his wisdom, chooses a vehicle mode with screaming double '38s' on the doors, making him an easy target." She pointed to Sideways. "At least Sideways only looks like a Decepticon with his color scheme. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more than concerned about Miko's safety."

Wait, they knew what happened?

"What happened to Raf's house?" Sideways asked.

Optimus exchanged a glance with Arcee. "We fear that the location of his home was compromised, and that his home was targeted by Decepticons. His involvement with MECH has made him more of a target than ever for them."

"But… How do we know if he's OK?"

"Ratchet had confirmed his location at the MECH base today, when the attack happened, it was impossible for him to have arrived home in the intervening period. I only fear now for what has happened to his family, and for how Rafael will react when he finds out."

"That's… why didn't you tell him?"

"We have been unable to communicate with any MECH frequencies since the attack. Unfortunately, you Smokescreen, and Bumblebee were investigating the energon signature, which meant that you could not wait for him at his home." Optimus frowned. "Beyond that, I did not want Smokescreen to do anything… rash after discovering the nature of the incident. His spark is in the right place, but he would likely insist on some form of retaliation. And I will not allow such reckless behavior." He turned back to Arcee. "Though I am now firm in my belief that he understands the value of protecting humanity."

* * *

The words "protecting humanity" echoed in Raf's mind as his vision clouded and he woke back up in Seven's car.

"Did you know that you black out a lot?" Seven said, not taking his eyes off the road as they approached the MECH base. "It's… pretty concerning."

Did Seven know that he needed to shut up and mind his own business?

Agh, Raf's head, what… Come on. Unicron was supposed to stop these things from happening.

"Raf, are you feeling ok?" Seven said, stopping the car in front of the highway exit. "You've looked ready to die since earlier when we revived Silas. And now with your house, I… Look, if you don't want to go back to base... we can just keep driving for a bit."

_No._

"No."

Seven sighed and turned the car down the road leading to the base, towards the main command building, where two M-Cons blocked his way.

"Hold, Seven. Why did neither you nor Prometheus Watch report after dropping off Rafael?"

"Because I didn't get to drop off Rafael." Seven said, pointing to Raf in the passenger seat. "Where is Silas?"

"Inside the science building overseeing construction of the Ground Bridge," one of them pointed to the second largest building in the complex, still being repaired on one side where the Insecticon had burst out, "why didn't you drop off Rafael?"

"Above your pay grade." Seven said, speeding towards the building.

"Seven, you've returned, good." Silas said, turning his robotic head slightly to acknowledge them upon their entry before turning back to MECH's latest construction project, a Ground Bridge. Or at least, a prototype Ground Bridge that they practically threw together. For a second, it resembled a single-cylinder internal combustion engine. The Scientist was right; it only had taken them a few hours. "Care to explain why you didn't report upon arrival at Rafael's house?"

"Because Rafael's house doesn't exist anymore." Seven said.

"Thank you for choosing the most dramatic, yet least informative diction possible, agent." The Scientist said from above them.

"What do you mean, 'it doesn't exist anymore'?" Silas said, crouching down to get a closer look through the windshield.

Seven sent the pictures to the MECH mainframe, and they opened up on the Scientist's main screen. Several MECH commandos standing guard turned to look at the images.

"Whoah." The Scientist said.

"Sir. If the Decepticons are attempting to assassinate Rafael, we need to strike back." Seven said. "We need to get Scourge or the Sweeps or _someone_ to hit them hard, show them that that won't be tolerated. Rafael's our frie-… asset."

Silas didn't say anything, and his eyes narrowed at the pictures Seven took.

"Sir?"

"Look at these photos, Seven." Silas said. "What do you see?"

"The same thing I saw when I was thirty feet from the site in person?" Seven said slowly. "A destroyed house. Blasted to smithereens."

"Ah, blasted, that's a funny word, isn't it?" Silas said. "I'd say it's taken a whole new meaning for us given our line of work. In normal use, it means 'to launch explosives at'. Yet our enemies use blasters that launch superheated plasma."

"What are you saying, Silas?" Seven asked.

"I'm saying that I'm noticing a curious lack of evidence of blaster fire ever having occurred here, and our intelligence shows that Starscream is the only Decepticon we know of to use conventional missiles. And I highly doubt that the Decepticon warship itself managed to successfully do a flyby so close to the Autobot base."

_Oh. I must admit, I did not see that coming._

What.

"Silas. This is exactly what I was talking about." The Scientist said, his voice beginning to raise.

"What?" Raf asked. "It wasn't the Decepticons?"

"We don't know for sure." Silas said.

"Then who was it?" Raf asked.

"My guess is… 'a shadowy government organization with more budget than morals.'"

The words hung in the air for a while, and Raf realized that they were waiting for his response.

"B-but… no!" Raf managed to say. "That doesn't… Agent Fowler wouldn't-"

"Agent Fowler wouldn't. But General Bryce would." Silas said.

"But they can't do that!"

The Scientist and Silas both let out a quick laugh.

"Welcome to MECH, kid." The Scientist said. "Take a number, and Silas will be with you shortly for the presentation." He turned to Silas, and his voice got serious again. "I warned you about soldiers, sir. I told you, Silas."

"This wasn't supposed to happen." Silas insisted.

"I told you." The Scientist said now pacing back and forth. "I _told_ you about Bryce."

"I _know!_" Silas snapped. "Look, we have to look on the bright side here. _If_ Bryce was responsible for an attempt to assassinate Rafael, then he failed, because Rafael is here, alive, and safe with us."

"But what about my family?" Raf asked. "My mama? My sisters?"

"Look, Rafael." Silas said. "We're going to get to the bottom of this, and when we do, believe me, they'll pay in blood or energon."

As he said it, the Scientist's screen began to flash.

"I take it the techs have finished decoding the next entry in the Iacon database?" Silas asked. "We could use some good news, I suppose."

"No," the Scientist said. "They're still working on it, but it looks like the NBEs beat us to the punch. We're detecting a frequency matching the beacon on the Tox-En container."

"Well, where is it?"

"… China." The Scientist sighed.

"Well, I suppose that this might as well be the perfect time to test out our prototype." Silas suggested.

"To send Scourge… On a trip to China?" The Scientist asked. "Silas, the prototype isn't… I mean, I guess it would work, but the power drain would be ridiculous. We might not be able to call him back for a couple of hours. I haven't even tested sending something over to the next building. And what if Scourge gets hurt?"

"Come on, don't tell me you're growing soft on me." Silas chided.

* * *

"So this is our Ground Bridge, huh?" Scourge asked, inspecting the machine, and poking a finger at one of the tesla coils. "It is supposed to be so… unfinished?"

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Silas asked. "It's not unfinished, it's advanced!"

"Hm… My impending doom sensors are tingling."

"Listen, Scourge, this mission is important, and we're sending you because we have the utmost confidence in you." The Scientist assured him. "And by my calculations, the odds of you being violently ripped apart by the electromagnetic distortions are less than two ten thousandths of a percent!"

"Very well, and when can I return?"

"When the mission is accomplished and you call for pickup."

Scourge looked at the three of them. "And I'm expected to, what; tuck the relic into my bomb bay? What if I get attacked? Can I at least bring a Sweep with me as an escort?"

"Uh…" Silas turned to look at the Scientist, who shook his head. "No."

"Welp, this'll be fun." Scourge said. "Go ahead, rev up that engine."

The Scientist put a hand on the lever and flashed a thumbs-up to the other technicians in the room, who readied the targeting data and flashed a thumbs up back. The Scientist pulled the lever, and a Ground Bridge portal, crackling with extra energy but otherwise stable opened up at the mouth of the device. The lights dimmed, and Scourge whispered a prayer, to whom, Raf didn't want to think about, and dashed through the portal, which closed behind him.

On the Scientist's screen, Scourge's signal blinked, moving from his location in base to northeast China. Right on target.

"Scourge, report?" Silas asked, using his on-board communicator. Static came back.

Uh oh.

_Scourge lives. I sense him. Believe me, if Scourge falls, we shall be the first to know._

"Scourge, report." Silas repeated. Still nothing.

"I'm getting his signal. Weak, but undoubtedly his." The scientist reported. "And he's on the move."

Twenty minutes later, a message came through, from a MECH technician. "Sir, we've finally deciphered the next set of co-ordinates."

"Not to worry, Team Oracle, Scourge has already been dispatched to _ Province." The Scientist reported. "Move on to the next set."

"I'm sorry, sir? The next set of coordinates don't point to China, they point to… Maine."

"What. Are you sure?"

"Positive. Satellite imagery even confirms a mass of Decepticons congregating at the site."

Silas slammed his fists together. "Well of course! Anything else would be too convenient!"

"Look, this isn't entirely unsalvageable." The Scientist said. "At that distance, we could probably open up a second Ground Bridge, even if we can only send one mech through. Power drain increases exponentially the larger and further the object we send."

"No… why send a mech to do what a machine can do better?" Silas asked, grinning.

"Because machines can't do anything better than people can?" The Scientist volunteered.

"Becau- no." Silas shook his head. "I'll be right back."

* * *

"Project Damocles, sir? Really?" The Scientist questioned. "That's your plan?"

"Along with a few minor tweaks made by some of the lab techs." Silas boasted.

"Did you shove Dark Energon in that thing?" Raf demanded.

"As a matter of fact, I did. How did you know?"

How couldn't he? Raf could practically smell the stuff. The normal orange of the folded satellite's solar arrays was being mixed in with a purple glow that crept from the center, and just being near it was giving him a headache.

"Silas, do you seriously expect us to deploy an autonomous, malevolent Kill Sat into orbit around the planet?" The Scientist said. "I said it with Scourge and I'll say it again. This is movie villain stuff."

"Well then it's a good thing we're not the villains, isn't it?" Silas patted the satellite with one of his metal hands. "And besides, Dark Energon's effects only manifest in that way when used as a _fuel_. The Dark Energon here has been precisely cut to serve as an alternative focus crystal for the particle beam."

"Silas, I don't think that's a good idea…"

Silas had stopped listening, and was hefting the satellite both hands and making practice throwing motions. "Activate the Ground Bridge!" he ordered.

The Scientist shook his head and pulled the lever again, causing all of the lights in the room to dim. Silas spun around, releasing the satellite and sending it flying though the portal.

"Alright." Silas muttered. "So far, so good." When the portal closed and power returned to normal levels, the Scientist checked on the satellite and watched as it automatically adjusted itself to geosynchronous orbit… right over MECH's base.

"Sir, what are you doing?"

"I have a plan." The blaster on his shoulder flipped up and began emitting a red light. Silas turned to look out at one of the large ventilation windows that was approximately level with his shoulder, and focused the beam on the command building, and the screen shifted its reticule over a few yards over to the same target. "Perfect. Activate the Ground Bridge! I have a relic to retrieve."

"By yourself?"

"No, with Rafael. Yes, by myself." Silas tapped his forehead and a live feed of his vision (not panoramic, given that it was just the Scientist's screen and not the main control rig). Raf noticed in the screen that he was looking pretty pale. He could actually see his veins though his skin, even from Silas' height. The Scientist sighed and activated the portal, and Silas charged through.

* * *

Silas emerged to see a… well, it started with "cluster".

Some dozen Insecticons, plus a few dozen more Vehicon fliers, drivers, and miners were swarming around the base of a mountain, interrupted in the middle of whatever drilling operation they were performing. Megatron himself was there, wearing his Apex Armor and watching over the scene unfolding before him. Several Vehicons had surrounded… Smokescreen and Sideways, both of whom were on the ground, smoking from blaster wounds, but otherwise OK.

The Decepticons seemed to be in the middle of carving out an entire section of the mountain before they were interrupted by the two Autobots. What they were thinking charging into such a dense group of enemies, Raf didn't know. Silas zoomed his vision into the mountain, scanning it until he focused on what looked like the hilt of a sword sticking out of it.

Several Insecticons ran through his peripheral vision, and Silas zoomed into see that they were chasing… Miko?! What did Raf _miss?_ The moment took on an even more surreal quality when the mountain began to shift, and Silas looked up to the Nemesis beginning to pull it up with a thick cable.

Silas zoomed back in on Megatron and readied his laser designator. On a corner of the Scientist's screen, Damocles flew across the North American continent until it settled over Maine.

"Silas! He's too close to the Autobots!" The Scientist warned.

"Right, right." Silas said. "I'm just scoping him out. Do you think the Apex armor can withstand a particle beam?"

"You'll never take the Star Saber, Megatron!" Sideways could be heard shouting out.

_The Star Saber? Here? That should not be. The Star Saber was a creation of mine, not of Primus._

What?

_In another world, one unknown to you, I crafted several weapons made up of smaller mini-cons. They were unimaginably powerful, and the hunt for these weapons stoked the fires of the Cybertronian wars to dizzying highs._

And what happened?

_The weapons were used to revive my body by an agent of mine, but the Autobots and Decepticons put aside their differences and destroyed me._

Who was the agent?

_Some insignificant transformer from an equally insignificant planet._

"Oh really?" Megatron asked, mockingly, and leaned closer to Sideways. "and I suppose you are going to stop me?"

Sideways reached up and tapped his own chest, though Silas couldn't see what he did from that angle. "That's right, Megatron. You won't be taking that weapon today." He continued.

Megatron grinned widely and stood up to his full height. "Ohohoho. I guess we'll see about that." He turned to Smokescreen. "And who are you?"

"Who wants to know?" Smokescreen asked.

Before Megatron could strike Smokescreen for his temerity, the Autobots, plus Scourge, charged in from the woods, blasters blazing. Lacking ranged weapons, Scourge simply charged forward until he encountered a Vehicon and did what he did best. Silas did a target acquisition and noticed that Optimus Prime was not among their number. From the look on Megatron's face, he noticed the same thing. Silas looked up and saw that Optimus had run from another direction and was climbing the section of mountain not being lifted and running in an attempt to be level with the sword.

"Keep Prime from the relic!" Megatron rasped, running towards the mountain while removing the Apex armor and handing it to an Insecticon. "Lose that, and I shall cast your spark into the smelting pits!" Megatron jumped and transformed, flanked by three Vehicons and two Insecticons. He _really_ didn't want Optimus taking that sword.

Silas ran forward into the clearing to get a better shot, and his targeting computer locked onto Megatron and his escorts. He also turned his head to lock onto a Vehicon that he noticed was pointing a blaster straight at the head of a recovered Smokescreen. Flexing his fingers, more rockets than Raf thought could fit in his chassis poured out from him, twisting, twirling, and otherwise making somewhat unnecessary flight adjustments before homing in on the flying Decepticons.

What happened next was fuzzy from the electromagnetic disturbances that occurred, but everybody stopped fighting at that moment, first to look at the missiles streaking through the sky towards Megatron, and then at the pillar of concentrated orange plasma that lit up the sky as if it were daytime and slammed into the Vehicon behind Smokescreen, burning for five seconds before cutting. Raf would find out later that his proximity to the blast actually burned Smokescreen's wings and left him completely deaf for the next hour. Smokescreen turned around for half a second to see what exactly happened behind him before snapping back to see a multitude of explosions happen in the sky as the missiles hit their targets, dropping most of them out of the sky… except for Megatron, who emerged from the smoke unscathed, flying erratically and blasting at Optimus with his ship blasters _and_ his top-mounted fusion cannon. As Silas paused to re-acquire him as a target, Scourge sprinted across his field of view towards the three Insecticons that were chasing Miko, one of which was holding the Apex Armor in its secondary hands while pulling rocks away with its main ones. As soon as Miko was exposed, one of them reached for her before Scourge launched himself to drop kick it in the face, while the second one was hit by one of Bulkhead's wrecking ball fists. The two of them stopped and said something to Miko before the third Insecticon struck Bulkhead in the back.

Silas locked onto the last Insecticon, but Scourge and Bulkhead were too close to it for him to blast it with Damocles again. When the two other Insecticons stood back up, Silas deselected Megatron and began setting up his targeting systems to attack the three bug-bots without harming Scourge. Oh, yeah, and Bulkhead. Raf could actually see that after thought play across Silas's face, too.

Silas grinned when the Insecticon dropped the Apex Armor to dedicate itself to the fight.

Silas stopped grinning when Miko ran to the Apex Armor and jumped on the button.

Silas frowned when the armor actually activated, enveloping her first in a metal cocoon, and then forming around her until she stood as tall as a Vehicon and three times as wide. He turned back towards the chase between Megatron and Optimus and saw Sideways firing at them.

Strange, Sideways didn't seem to be aiming particularly well. He was just pouring blaster fire in their direction, really.

Optimus Prime transformed into truck mode to pick up speed until he ramped off a cliff, towards the flying mountain.

Giving up on trying to target Megatron from the distance, he ran forward to get a closer look, barely registering the sight of the other Autobots, Scourge, and an armored Miko coming behind him.

They all watched as Optimus took to the sky… got shot by Megatron… transformed in mid-air… and grabbed the handle of the Star Saber. As soon as he did, Megatron broke off from his flight pattern towards the Nemesis, transforming and landing on the deck before running inside. Silas zoomed back out to see the sword glow a pale blue for a moment before slipping free of the stone in which it was embedded, falling with Optimus a few thousand feet to the ground below.

Optimus stared intently at the sword as he fell, landing on his feet and holding it above his head, not taking his eyes off of the blade.

"I loosened it for him." Smokescreen claimed.

A mile away, the clamp on the Nemesis released its grip, dropping the mountain it held, and it began to roll down the incline… straight for Optimus.

"Optimus, retreat!" Arcee shouted.

"Now!" Bulkhead said.

"No time!" Silas declared, targeting the mountain with his designator and setting Damocles to full burst.

Optimus finally took his eyes off of the Star Saber and turned around just in time to see a twenty meter wide particle beam pierce the heavens and hit the ground twenty yards in front of him. As the mountain passed through the beam, it was sliced in two like a hard-boiled egg and either side rolled harmlessly past him before stopping.

Everybody but Optimus turned to look as Silas.

"Did you just…" Bulkhead began.

"O…kay" Bumblebee buzzed.

"No way!" Miko said.

Optimus nodded, at what, Raf didn't know, and ran towards the fleeing Nemesis, twisting around in a circle and swinging the Star Saber at it with a roar., sending… some kind of beam towards it until it slammed into its engine array.

"It can do that?" Sideways asked, and turned to Silas while pointing at the mountain. "and you can do _that?_"

Raf wasn't even _there_ and he could feel the tension ratchet up several levels. Scourge stepped away from the group to stand by Silas's side, and Team Prime was giving a look of pure suspicion.

"Who… are you?" Bulkhead asked.

"Another one of MECH's projects, no doubt." Arcee sighed. "They can't seem to stop cranking them out."

"Who's MECH?" Smokescreen asked.

"Acquaintances." Bulkhead said. "We'll explain when we get back to base."

"Oh, is it 'acquaintances' now, Bulkhead?" Silas asked. "After all we've been through?"

Bulkhead's eyes widened. "Silas?"

"In the flesh, in a manner of speaking."

"Wow." Miko said. "Didn't think you would actually come out to fight yourself. But that is seriously one awesome looking robo-suit." She flashed a "rock on" gesture with the Apex Armor.

"Likewise." Silas grinned. "and I'm glad you think so Miko. I've grown quite… attached to it as of late."

Optimus approached the group and looked at Silas before shaking his head in disapproval. "Ratchet would want us to leave now." He announced, and turned to Silas and Scourge. "Thank you for your assistance, Silas. The Star Saber will be a valuable asset."

"Not a problem, Optimus Prime." Silas pointed up as the Ground Bridge opened to the Autobot Base and the other Autobots walked through. "And MECH now has a sword of its own."

* * *

"How _epic_ was that?" Smokescreen gushed on his way back into Autobot Outpost Omega One, pantomiming Optimus's Star Saber swing. "I saw it with my own optics, and I _still_ can't believe it."

"You know what _I_ don't believe?" Bulkhead said, pointing at him and Sideways. "That after what Ratchet _and_ Arcee said, you two _still_ put a human at risk."

"Come on, Bulk, it wasn't their fault!" Miko said, walking forward and testing her range of motion in the Apex Armor. "I insisted! And I even got this sweet armor out of the deal! Besides, you take me on missions all the time!"

Sideways leaned in to more closely inspect the armor.

_This armor is actually pretty incredible. Kind of reminds me of the Nemesis Shield.  
_

"Yeah, I know, but… I've never taken you to fight half the Decepticon army."

"We didn't exactly know that ahead of time." Smokescreen offered. "It was a mistake, Bulkhead. I'm sorry."

Sideways shrugged innocently.

"Bulkhead, you should send Miko home." Arcee said. "And talk about this tomorrow."

"If I go home, I'm taking the armor with me." Miko retorted. "I found it, finders keepers."

Ratchet rolled his eyes, and held his hand over the Ground Bridge lever, waiting for Bulkhead to make the call.

"I… guess you can't exactly get hurt anymore, as long as you keep the armor on." Bulkhead sighed.

"Yes! Sweet!" Miko cheered, giving Bulkhead a hug and lifting him up a few feet in the air. "This is going to be awesome! I'm like a real Wrecker now! Just wait 'till Wheeljack sees this! He's gonna flip!"

Sideways turned to walk away, but Arcee pulled him back next to Smokescreen and glaring at the two of them. "OK, Bulkhead's clearly too nice to say this, so I will. We've been in need of more _Autobots_ in our ranks, not more _children_. I'd almost be willing to expect, not accept or tolerate, but _expect_ this kind of behavior from Smokescreen. He's greener then Tox-En. But you, Sideways? You were supposed to have way better training than this."

"Look, Arcee, we were wrong. And I'm sorry… again." Smokescreen sighed. "And if you need to kick me off Team Prime-"

"Easy there, Smoke," Sideways interrupted, his voice now serious for once, "we apologized. No harm done. That's enough."

"Disregard for human safety, or _anyone's_ safety, will not be tolerated." Optimus said from behind them, standing the Star Saber on the ground, "Do you understand?"

"Fully, sir." The two bots said in unison.

Optimus nodded in approval. "We must never lose sight of the fact that upon this Earth, we are titans, and such power must be used wisely."

When Optimus finished speaking, the Star Saber began to glow a bright blue in his hands, just as it had when he first grasped it, and when he had launched the sword beam. Optimus picked up the sword and held it in front of him, staring into it until the blue glow the sword overpowered the blue glow of his eyes.

"Optimus, speak to me." Ratchet said. Optimus didn't respond. "Optimus?!"

"I am receiving a message." Optimus said.

"From who?"

_From whom, buddy. And I'm not picking up any of your energy in that sword at all, master._

"Alpha Trion." Optimus remained silent for a minute after that.

"Optimus, what is Alpha Trion saying?"

After several more minutes, the glow faded, and Optimus began to stumble to the ground before Ratchet caught him. "Easy, Optimus." He cautioned.

"So, did Alpha Trion ask about me?" Smokescreen asked.

Bulkhead pulled him back and stepped forward. "What was the message?"

"It is paramount that we recover the final four Iacon Relics: The Omega Keys." Optimus stated.

_Ah, now those I remember. But… If I remember right, they should be quite the trip to find. The Autobots would need a ship… or a Space Bridge. Is there even a Gigantion here? I sure hope not._

"Keys?" Arcee began.

"To what?" Ratchet asked.

"To the regeneration of our home planet… and the fabric of the universe itself.

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Teletraan-1 Breaks

-We've just arrived! The most elite warriors in the universe!

-Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb.

* * *

AN: I actually managed to crank out chapter 15 in a week, and it's done, and it is long and it is amazing and I am so proud of it and I can't wait to share it with you people because it was so much more fun than writing this one but I needed to move the plot along so this needed to be written.

Tell your friends!

And I read all of your feedback, so I'm going to answer a few questions that I feel aren't spoilers.

-fanficbrowser: You are correct, Wheeljack was referencing New Vegas. The story is packed pretty heavily with them if you go back and look, particularly when it comes to Silas and General Bryce.

-Taserlaser: Silas _is_ Cyclonus, even if he doesn't refer to himself as such, but as far as Unicron is concerned, he has taken up the mantle, and was influenced to use the name for his robot's operating system, while the robot itself is named Cylas. Sideways is indeed the Sideways we've all come to know. Ratchet's arc in this story is basically a reversal of what it was in the show, because Ratchet started the show as being pretty blatantly racist against humans, apart from his few human friends, and only coming to be less of a prick in season 3. So in this case, seeing MECH embody in many ways the best and worse impulses of humanity isn't helping him at all. MECH is taking humanity to greater scientific frontiers, by wearing Ratchet's people like a suit, and Seven freely tells him that humans have done far more inhumane things to other living humans. As for MECH's history, I had to basically extrapolate an entire history for Silas based purely on the fact that he was former military, spoke of "The New World Order" as something that was already _here_ as a opposed to something _coming_. His Space Laser Project helped me pinpoint a timeframe for him since that would mean that he would have been in the military during the Reagan administration.

-T51b Mordin: As I write this story, I realize that part of the reason that Raf rarely gets screentime is because, like Ratchet, his skillset rarely requires him to leave the base. And part of the reason Silas took a dive off of idiot canyon in "The Human Factor" I feel is because MECH didn't actually stand for anything in canon. From the little I knew of/extrapolated from his history, I saw many similarities to the character of John Rambo translated to an officer rather than an enlisted man. Whereas Rambo carried his rage against what he saw as treacherous politicians and ungrateful civilians and channeled it through wanton violence, Silas, who is considerably more educated and tactful, chose to channel that same feeling towards managing a terrorist organization. I also considered other fascist movements of the past, particularly Hitler's repeated claim that Germany's loss in WWII was due to this mass backstabbing by Germany's Jews, and this common belief in authoritarian movements that the masses supposedly actually agree with them, but due to some group's interference, this silent majority cannot aid them. Given that fascists tend to make good demagogues, this becomes something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sort of. Also, side note, I believe that you are confusing Sideways with Shockwave.

Everything Silas says, by the way, are based on real philosophical and political concepts that you guys should look up, not because I agree with them (I disagree with nearly everything Silas says, actually), but because it is always good to read from a perspective that you won't really see in the mainstream media. That's why I actually enjoyed Fallout New Vegas, because two of the three factions were able to present well-reasoned arguments against the democratic foundations of the NCR (and by extension, the USA) beyond "I hate democracy because I'm evil and hate freedom". Or course, Caesar actually _was _evil and _did_ hate freedom, but he had reasons. Not _good_ reasons, mind you, but somewhat logical ones.

If anybody is wondering, I support Mr. House, because he had a valid and enforceable property claim on the Strip, and effectively homesteaded Hoover Dam. Vegas, though not the entirety of the Mojave, was his by right.


	15. Gambit

"_It's... it's not my fault, Megatron! This greed is built into my personality component!"_

\- Swindle, Primax Cluster

* * *

Raf blinked and found himself awake in MECH's main science building again, a blanket draped over him in one of the office chairs next to the Scientist.

"Seven was right. You do black out a lot." He said, not taking his eyes off of his computer. "I was considering sending you to the infirmary."

"Well, that was a complete waste of our time." Scourge grumbled as he passed through the Ground Bridge back into the MECH base.

"Not necessarily, Scourge." Silas said. "We ensured that the Decepticons did not retrieve the relic, and we were able to make a show of force. Project Damocles exceeds my every expectation."

"Yeah, I guess. Still, next time, let's do a little better scouting before you send me on a mission without first confirming the coordinates yourself."

"Yes… It's not like me to be so impatient." Silas rubbed his forehead. "Perhaps an after-effect of the surgery…"

"Uh, sir, we have a… problem." The Scientist reported, pointing to his screen. Raf looked up to see financial records. "Abdul Fakkadi didn't pay us last month."

"What?" Silas pushed past Scourge to get a better look at the screen. "Strange. I know he got that shipment of M-Con husks. Are you sure the transaction isn't pending?"

"Positive, sir. It's a recurring payment schedule. We should have gotten the money a week ago."

"I'm sure there's been a misunderstanding. Call him up."

The Scientist entered a number on the comm and someone picked up on the second ring.

"You have reached the Supreme Military Commander, King of Kings, and President for Life of the Socialist Democratic Federated Republic of Carbombya, Abdul Fakkadi." Staring down at them was an elderly Arabian man, easily as old as Silas, maybe a few years older, wearing a military costume. Calling it a uniform would be an insult to officers everywhere. The man was covered from head to toe in medals, pins, and ribbons of dubious merit, with seven stars on his uniform and Raf was pretty sure he spotted a Congressional Medal of Honor.

"What's going on over there, Abdul?" Silas asked, his voice taking on something approaching friendliness.

Abdul flashed Silas a wide grin and laughed. "Why, Mister Colonel, whatever do you mean?" From the look on his face, it was clear that Abdul knew exactly what Silas meant.

"You, uh…" Silas watched as the Scientist pulled up an updated shipping manifest that was marked as confiscated. His fake smile vanished completely. "You stole everything we shipped you! We're supposed to be allies, you maniac! I'm the one who helped put you into office!"

"Listen very carefully," Abdul leaned in and scowled. "I am not your pet, Colonel. I have my legacy to consider."

"You think I give a wooden nickel about _your legacy?_" Silas demanded. "You give us our money or you give us our mechs back, do you understand?

Fakkadi chuckled and shook his head.

"You know we'll retaliate, Abdul." Silas said.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that, human!" Starscream shouted, his face appearing in a new window next to Abdul's.

"Starscream?" Silas asked. "You're supposed to be…"

"Dead?" Starscream laughed. "I agree completely!"

"Ah, so you have met my new business partner already!" Abdul clapped and threw his head back in laughter.

"Business partner?" Silas demanded. "What are you talking about?!"

"Starscream here has given me a considerably better deal on, shall we say, 'mechanized infantry', and at a considerably lower cost to myself and my great nation."

"Precisely," Starscream mocked, "And as a show of good faith, he has seized your illegal arms shipments to be used for the greater glory of Carbombya."

"This isn't over, Abdul." Silas growled.

"No, Colonel Bishop." Starscream said before ending the call. "It has only begun."

* * *

"Invade Carbombya? Silas, are you insane?" The Scientist shouted.

"No, I see the truth more clearly than ever before. We made a show of force to the Autobots. Now we make another to General Bryce."

"MECH doesn't have the manpower to occupy-"

"We're not _occupying _Carbombya. We're using the Powell Doctrine." Silas began making calculations on his HUD. "We go in hard and fast with everything we have, accomplish our mission, and pull out."

"And just what is our mission, Silas?"

"Get our mechs back, get our money, kill Starscream, and/or topple the Fakkadi regime." Silas sighed. "Shame, he was such a good customer, too."

"Wait, Silas, he said he was the Supreme Military Commander, King of Kings, and President for Life of a Socialist Democratic Federated Republic." Raf pointed out. He was still stuck on that. "I thought MECH didn't like, well, any of those things."

"It's a good thing Carbombya isn't any of those things."

"But… How can a republic have a king? Much less a 'King of Kings'?"

"If you asked him that, he'd probably execute you."

"Is he a moron?"

"Usually, no. He's just painfully short sighted sometimes."

"And you think you're going to successfully invade him? MECH doesn't have ships… or more than a single bomber, or anything else! How do you plan to even _get_ there?"

"We have the Ground Bridge, we have Damocles, and we have the Armada. Carbombya has a military strength of around 50,000, maybe 100,000 if they had time to mobilize their reserves, which they won't."

"And how many troops does MECH have?"

"Enough." Silas turned to the technician below him. "How go the improvements to the Ground Bridge?"

"We _ should_ be operating at peak efficiency now." The technician said, making adjustments to the machine's circuitry while the other technicians were guiding the robot-arms to make final welds to the machine.

"Silas, I'm receiving reports that Carbombya has launched a full-scale invasion of Egypt… with an army of giant robots."

"That was... fast." Silas raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Raf had a hard time believing that Carbombya was a real country. Formerly the Islamic Kingdom of Carbombya, in 1984, Abdul Fakkadi led a military coup against the reigning king, armed with what international observers noted was a curiously large arsenal of American weapons, taking over the country in three days. In his over thirty years as Supreme Military Commander, King of Kings, and President for Life, Fakkadi dragged his country kicking and screaming from having a capital city with a population of 4,000 people and 10,000 camels to an industrialized, if incredibly insular and repressive, modern state, that always somehow managed to obtain state of the art weapons technology that allowed it to safely harass its neighbors without fear of their considerably larger armies.

His declaration of alliance with the US lasted until 1986, when he suspiciously received a shipment of Jupiter missiles from an unknown source in the Western Hemisphere. When Raf read that, Silas cleared his throat conspicuously. After that, Carbombya locked itself out from the world, apart from the occasional bombastic, threatening speech at the UN coupled with demands for "fanatics and imperialists" to stay away from his shores. This arrangement lasted until 2006, when a Carbombyan Coastal Defense Platform fired at a cruise liner that was safely beyond the three mile military demarcation line. Nobody was killed, but the international community was at least able to respond with sanctions, and Carbombya stayed quiet for the next decade until now.

As the location of the Ground Bridge, the Science building had been hastily reconfigured as the staging ground for MECH's invasion of the country at its eastern border, about a hundred miles south of the war front, if it could be called that. The Egyptian Military at the border between the two countries was caught completely unawares by the Carbombyan assault, and the Carbombyan army crossed half of the country in a matter of hours.

Raf was thus relocated to the main command building, sitting in the central control array, where another screen, larger than the other three combined, was affixed above the others to be used in order to de-clutter the interface while he helped to coordinate Project Thermopylae. The Scientist would remain in the Science Building and manage the Ground Bridge.

MECHs One, Two, and Six questioned whether or not Raf knew the first thing about military operations, and even Seven expressed concern at his operation being managed by a child.

Silas assured them that Raf would serve in a purely mission handler capacity, and that numbered MECH units like them would be answering only to him and Scourge. And so the invasion began. The sound of almost the entirety of MECH's forces, more than Raf thought reasonable for them to be able to field in a matter of hours. From Scourge's view on the Carbombyan side of the portal, Raf could see MECH vehicles and commandos stream through, until the sounds outside the base stopped and the portal closed.

By Raf's estimate (and confirmed by Unicron-vision), MECH's invasion force totaled: Three squadrons of twenty five Sweeps each, twenty-one helicopter gunships that Raf didn't even realize MECH had, two hundred ground M-Cons, and ten thousand MECH commandos, armed and ready for combat. Silas stood in front of them with Scourge beside him. The two of them surveyed their Inner Desert Invasion Operation Terminal.

"If only General Bryce could see me now…" Silas remarked. "Not that I care what that buffoon thinks."

Right.

"I am Silas." Silas projected once his army was fueled and in formation. "And of far greater consequence to humanity, we are MECH. There is a war brewing, between the new world order and the newest. The victor will be the side armed with the most innovative technology." Silas held his robotic hands out. "In that case, I'd say that our chances are looking better by the hour. Consider the campaign we wage today a practice run."

Silas paused to let the crowd chuckle.

"Being MECH, we do not fight wars we do not agree with for causes we do not understand. Our causus belli is thus: Once a significant financier of our operations, Abdul Fakkadi has betrayed the human race in general and us in particular by aligning himself with the rogue Decepticon known as Starscream. From us, he has stolen a significant quantity of battlesuits and armaments in lieu of paying for them. We are here to terminate Starscream, and we are here to either recover our property or extract payment. Is our cause just?"

"Yes!" The crowd shouted.

"We are beacon of hope for humanity! We are the future! We are the light that shines in the darkness!"

The response was instant and unanimous: "And the darkness comprehends us not!"

"Here is the plan, roughly." Scourge announced, pointing west by southwest. "Twenty miles in that direction is the Abdul Fakkadi Airbase. All ground M-Con units will be taking that site and destroying the Royal Carbombyan Air Defense Corps." He adjusted his arm to the left, until his internal compass pointed south by southeast. "One hundred and fifty miles in _that_ direction is the city of Al Fakkadi, from which the Carbombyan Revolutionary Liberation Defense Forces are mounting their blitz across the Egyptian border. When the airfield is taken, the Sweeps and I will fly south towards their staging ground and blast it to bits." Scourge rotated back around until he pointed northwest "Fifteen miles in _that_ direction is Carbombya City, where the rest of you will be seizing any and all police and military offices that you see. The helicopter armada will airlift Silas and two hundred of you to take the Royal Presidential Palace as soon as I take flight, and then begin transporting you in groups of two hundred and twenty into key points in the city while you march. Any further questions should be directed towards your commanding agent. Are there any questions?"

Everybody saluted Scourge.

"Happy hunting."

* * *

According to the field reports that came in a half hour later, the M-Con assault on Fakkadi Airbase was a resounding success, with zero MECH casualties sustained. Apparently, the sentries spotted two hundred chartreuse Corvette's speeding towards them at 120 mph and assumed that it was the Presidential motorcade coming for a surprise inspection. In a maneuver that Seven insisted was "awesome looking" and "they should have had dashcams for this holy crap", all of the M-Cons sped into the base past the sentried into the airfield itself, where dozens of MiG fighter jets were awaiting orders for takeoff or being fueled. Once they got close, the cars transformed without stopping and began tearing the place apart in a flurry of energon blasts and pro-wrestling moves on the grounded jets, disabling more than half of them in the first minute. At least six jets had enough fuel in them for the pilots to attempt takeoff, only to be shot down within seconds of clearing the runway. According to a few reports, one M-Con actually straddled one of the fighters as it sped down the tarmac and, as it took off, reached in, and tore the pilot out of the cockpit, seat and all. He managed to set the pilot down, still bound to his seat but unharmed, while the jet took off into the sky before exploding.

As soon as Seven sent word back, Scourge and the Sweeps blasted off south at full speed towards Al-Fakkadi city. At their current speed, they'd get there in ten minutes. At the same time, Silas transformed down and backed up into one of the helicopters while twenty troops each loaded into the other twenty.

As soon as they came within a mile of the capital, the helicopters were greeted with a volley of anti-air machinegun fire. Most of it bounced harmlessly off of the helicopters' armor, if it hit at all, and Silas shouted for them to stay the course until they got to the palace.

Say what you wanted about him, Fakkadi had style. Built from the best that large amounts of Arabian oil money could buy, the presidential palace screamed "Colombian Drug Lord", "Arab Oil Sheikh", and "First World President" all at once, with support pillars of ivory, diamonds embedded into the bricks, and, topping it all off, a ten to one scale solid gold statue of the man himself in the middle of the square, facing the sun. Raf had read at one point that the statue actually rotated to do that at all times. You'd expect such a thing to seem unreasonably tacky, but somehow it all came together in a way that said "I am richer than you, and can afford decent architects."

When the helicopters arranged themselves over the palace courtyard, the Carbombyan Royal Presidential Guard streamed out of the structure. Of the fifty or so men that came out, only few of them evidently had the foresight to bring anti-vehicle weapons, because the air started filling with rockets. The pilots began to pull up in an attempt to avoid this new threat, but one guard managed to score a lucky hit on Silas' copter.

"Well that was a sub-optimal outcome." Silas said flatly as his transport began spinning in mid-air and plummeting to the ground. "I'd brace myself, but…I have no arms. Pilots, what's it looking like?"

No response.

"Yep. Sub-optimal."

The helicopter crashed to the ground, nose first. Silas grunted and attempted to accelerate out of the back, but the crash deformed the door, keeping it shut. He sighed and attempted to transform, but the space was too cramped for his robots to move.

"Damnit." He began ramming the door harder. "This may be a bit. How are things on Scourge's end?"

Raf looked at the other monitor.

"Approaching Al-Fakkadi City, preparing to strike in thirty seconds." Scourge announced. "The underside view indeed displayed lines of Carbombyan tanks, APCs, and utility vehicles speeding down the highway, towards the smoldering ruins of an Egyptian border checkpoint. Scourge looked off into the horizon and saw the Carbombyan thrust stretch on for several miles, leaving destroyed towns and vehicles in their wake where they were encountered on the relatively empty road. And leading the charge ahead of all of them was…

"Uh… Be advised," Scourge muttered, "the Carbombyan assault is being led by a giant robot."

"And?" Silas responded over the sound of his engine revving. "If you haven't noticed, Scourge, _you're_ a giant robot."

"Maybe I wasn't clear." Scourge zoomed pass the city to get a closer look. "This is a _giant_ robot."

Scourge wasn't lying. It was hard to tell from the distance involved, but the robot he was looking at had to have been at least eighty-five feet tall.

"Yeah so I'm gonna steer clear of that." Scourge said, banking back around to approach Al-Fakkadi City. His HUD zoomed in on a comm tower with a set of satellites somewhat shoddily attached to an antenna. "This, on the other hand, mine."

Executing a flawless mid-air transformation. Scourge latched onto the communications array, swinging around on it until he was perched on the building, King-Kong style, and began tearing away at the equipment with his claws. A BTR on the street below aimed its heavy machine gun at him and began pelting his wings with bullets, causing him to growl with frustration, tear one of the satellite dishes off, and hurl it like a Frisbee at the offending vehicle and slice through the machinegun pod instantly. In a moment that would later become one of the most popular six-second videos on the internet thanks to one Private Muhammed Hamid who actually brought a smartphone to the invasion, Scourge roared at the troops below, beating his chest and bringing his wings to full spread. Scourge later told Raf that he had never felt more alive.

A hundred and fifty miles back to the north, Silas managed to rev up his engine _and_ execute a transformation at the top of the incline, tearing out of the access door and exposing himself to the Carbombyan troops fearfully surrounding the wreckage. Stumbling out, Silas looked at the skies and saw that the other twenty helicopters were still flying and relatively undamaged, and MECH troopers were firing out the windows in an attempt to suppress troops on their way to the palace. Silas looked at the troops surrounding him, who all took a step back. He cycled through his HUD for a suitable anti-personnel weapon and, not finding one, settled for the smallest missiles he had. Pointing his fingers like fake guns at the rocket holding soldiers, he broadcasted the word "bang" and a rocket popped out of each fingertip, launching into the group and ending their potential as a threat. Turning around to face Abdul Fakkadi Avenue, the central road that led through the capital into the central palace, Silas saw several police BTRs round the corner and approach the palace, guns aimed straight for him.

"Oh dear, slow moving, heavily armored vehicles. Whatever will I do?" Silas mocked, and flipped up his targeting system. After eleven seconds, Damocles was in position and blasted the tank closest to the palace, slowly moving back and completely engulfing each one in its radius. When it was done, he touched a finger to his ear. "OK, Hardshell choppers, you are clear to land."

Ah. Raf was beginning to wonder.

The helicopters landed around the yard and all two hundred MECH Commandos hopped out, weapons ready. They took positions around the yard, searching for alternate entrances while a few of them readied themselves on either side of the main door.

"OK, you know what Fakkadi looks like. Take him alive if it is reasonably practical." Silas ordered. "I… can't fit through the door, so I'll stay out here and hold off the cops. Be ready to breach in a moment. Scourge, have you stopped the military?"

"Al-Fakkadi City has been taken, but the bulk of the Carbombyan military has already crossed the border." Scourge reported, zooming in on the troops in the distance. "It should only be a matter of time before they notice that their communications are down, and longer still before they decide to turn back around. The Sweeps and I cannot stand against an army of fifty thousand, Silas. They'd clog our gears."

"Well somebody's a self-assured Sally, aren't they?" a familiar voice mocked. Scourge turned to see Starscream perched on the spire of a building several blocks away. "Welcome to Carbombya, you traitor to your race! Are you enjoying the climate? The citizens? The _carnage?_"

"Starscream." Scourge snarled. "What was the point of all of this? What have you gained from interfering in the affairs of man? Have you finally gone mad?"

"Oh don't mind me!" Starscream said, tapping his forehead. "I simply lost my head a bit after I… lost my head!"

"How are you still alive? You've been crushed, shot at, and blown up, what, five times?"

"_Four_, actually." Starscream held up his fingers. "Trust me, I remember."

"Well, I have a mission, so please, stay dead this time." Scourge lunged towards him, and Starscream flipped off of the building and across the street.

"Sorry, not today. I've fallen into the clutches of your masters once already." Starscream looked East. "And I have business to attend to. Gotta blast!" He leapt off of the building, higher than ever before, and with a twist and a spin, transformed, accelerating to quickly that the sonic boom knocked Scourge from his perch and could be heard in the control room.

The comm-screen beeped. Another message from Project Oracle. The next Iacon Relic had been located… in Egypt.

Silas streamed off a volley of profanity when he heard the news. "How could Starscream have _known_ that?" He demanded. "He doesn't have a copy of the Iacon Database. He's been _in_ Carbombya and not decoding it." Silas punched the door to the palace in frustration, sending it flying off of its hinges into the opposite wall. "Go now, find Fakkadi. I need a Ground Bridge. Meet me there, Scourge."

The portal opened behind Silas and he walked through, back to the Science Building. As soon as he did, like a pit crew, MECH technicians and giant robotic arms swarmed him, doing quick repair welds and restocking his supply of missiles. A quick check confirmed that the Damocles designator was not damaged during the fight. After five minutes, Silas was cleared to walk back through the portal, and emerged this time in the shadow of the Great Pyramids of Giza.

"Alright, because the situation would not be sufficiently dramatic otherwise, I will assume that the relic I'm looking for is actually inside one of the Pyramids." Silas looked around. "I'm not detecting its signal, so maybe…"

Silas was interrupted by the opening of another portal, through which Arcee and Sideways appeared. Likely on reflex, Arcee pulled a blaster on Silas.

"Now, now, Arcee." Silas wagged a finger. "Put that away before someone gets hurt."

"Ugh, right. Silas." Arcee shook her head. "Seriously, what in the pits of Kaon did I miss?"

"About as much as I did, if I have my timetable correctly." Silas said. "Now, if you're done posturing, I assume that you two thieves in the night are here for the Iacon relic."

"What do you know?" Arcee smiled to Sideways. "The human's brain _isn't_ useless."

"Charming." Silas eyed the tracking device in Arcee's hand. "Well, since all three of us are here, with a fourth on the way, it's only logical that we should work together to find the relic before the Decepticons show up."

"Not this time, Si." Sideways shook his head. "This one's going straight to our vault."

"Oh? Do you know what the relic is already?" Silas raised an eyebrow. "Between the 'Star Saber' and the 'Apex Armor', what's this one? The 'Terminal Lance'? The 'Moonlight Mace'? The 'Skyboom Shield'?"

"That's none of your business, Silas." Arcee said before Sideways could answer, and shoved her way past him towards the central pyramid entrance.

Without asking, Silas followed behind the two to the entrance, discovering to his frustration that his body was just too bulky to fit inside the tunnel.

"Go home, Silas." Arcee ordered as she traveled into the darkness with Sideways. "There's nothing for you here."

Silas readied his missiles at the tunnel, weighing his options, but shook his head. "Too much risk of caving in. Perhaps I'll just wait out here. Scourge, what is your ETA?"

"Twelve minutes." He responded. "Strange, no sign of that monstrosity I saw before."

"Then we should consider ourselves lucky. I could do without any more surprises today." Silas' scanner beeped at that moment, and several pops could be heard at the distance. He turned in its direction and zoomed in. "Strange, something's approaching me at… Mach 6. What could-"

Twenty meters from Silas, something slammed into the sand, blasting it into his face and making his vents whine with effort to purge the dust. Out of habit for a body he no longer had, Silas waved his hands in front of his face to push the sand away, and approached the crater. Crouched in the center of it was a Cybertronian, a little under thirty feet tall at Raf's estimate. It was purple, not as dark as Scourge, but definitely darker than Sideways. It wasn't immediately clear what this new robot turned into, but the rocket thrusters on its back and calves offered a hint.

"First!" The new Decepticon (And it was definitely a Decepticon) shouted. "You groundling peasants need to step it up!"

"You realize I can fly, too, right?" Another, higher pitched voice said, somewhat annoyed. Silas looked up to see a red KA-50 attack chopper fly over the horizon, transform in mid-air, and use the rotors in his back to slow his descent until he hit the ground and completed the transformation at the edge of the crater. The rocket-bot used his boosters to assist his jump and stand next to the new arrival, dwarfing the chopper-bot by a good thirteen feet.

"Maybe, but you can't match my speed."

"He could if he invested in some decent thrusters like I offered." A third voice now, with a thick Midwestern accent, broadcasted directly into Silas's system, and likely the others' as well. Cresting over the hill was a yellow Carbombyan utility vehicle, which Raf recognized as a UAZ-469. Instead of a dynamic entry, it drove straight up to the other two, and transformed up between them, standing about as tall as a Vehicon at twenty feet. His face was twisted into a sly grin, and he pulled his chest forward, exposing a small GroundBridge portal, and reached inside, fumbled around for a bit, and pulled out a small jet engine that matched the ones on the chopper next to him. "You won't get a better deal this side of the galaxy!"

"For the last time, I'm not buying another engine. I'm fine!" the chopper snapped. "And where are the others?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" another voice growled. Silas remained silent to watch this discussion continue, and a green T-62 tank rolled in from the main road. "I wasn't exactly built for speed or stealth you know." It aimed its turret at the yellow bot. "And _no_, I don't want to buy molecular masking field."

The yellow bot raised his hands in a placating gesture as the tank transformed up into a 26 foot tall brute of a robot, the same height as Silas but clearly physically stronger.

"Who are you gentlemen?" Silas asked, finally.

"One minute. We're waiting on one more." The yellow one held up a hand.

"Why would I wait for you to-"

"Hey, hey. Be patient." He laughed with genuine friendliness. "Boss'll be here any second."

"Boss?"

"That would be me!" Someone shouted in the distance behind them. Silas focused on the source and saw a robot lumbering towards them. "Have I told you boys I _hate_ sand?" Silas waited for an awkward minute as the robot walked the distance until he took his place in the middle of the group, cleared his throat, and stretched to stand up straight up to his full twenty three foot height. Weighing him down on his back was a multiple rocket launcher carrying enough missiles to level a small village. He had as many missiles on his outsides as Silas had on his insides. "Alright, we all here? Good. Boys, introduction-"

"By the Allspark, not _these_ losers." Arcee said from behind Silas.

"Who are they?" Sideways asked. "Decepticons?"

"Not just Decepticons." Arcee sighed. "Combaticons."

"Hey now, hey now." The yellow one said. "We have two people to whom we haven't introduced ourselves. Don't spoil it."

"Ugh. Fine, go ahead."

The yellow one hit a button on his shoulder, and a sound system unfolded from his chest. Loud upbeat rock music played, pretty catchy if Raf said so himself. The five robots lined up, shoulder to shoulder, and the green tank on the far left went first.

"I'm Brawl!" he shouted, rotating the tank turret on his back until it swung under his arm and he held it as if it were a minigun. "The toughest tank around!"

The purple rocketeer on the right went next, sending off a volley of lightning-fast punches before settling into a kung-fu pose. Silas quickly reviewed the footage and realized that he was using his rockets to speed up the punches each time. "Blast-Off, here! But you can call me the purple hurricane!"

"The name's Swindle!" the yellow jeep said, second from the left. "And do I have a deal for you!"

The red copter bot looked at the others and sighed, waving his hands half-heartedly. "Hey, I'm Vortex, and I… yeah."

"Finally, the latest and greatest! The man with the plan! The best combat sensation in all of creation! Onlaught! And together we are…"

"The Combaticons!" They shouted in unison.

The five stuck in their poses for a minute. And Arcee just shook her head and whispered. "Idiots…"

"Listen, lady." Swindle said, shutting off the music. "We worked really hard on that. If you have any constructive criticism, I'd be happy to hear it."

"What do you idiots want?" Arcee demanded.

"Happy you asked!" Onslaught smiled. "We're actually here for that little doohickey you got there. So if you wouldn't mind handing it over, we'll be on our way."

"Not gonna happen." Arcee said, putting a finger to her ear. "Ratchet, we need a-" A screeching sound reverbated from Arcee's ear, and she doubled over in pain. "Damnit, Silas, again with that thing?"

"Not me." Silas said.

Vortex waved his hands and pointed to the antenna sticking out of his shoulder. "Now why would you go and try to do a thing like that? We have a job to do."

Raf realized with a smile that Vortex may have been scrambling Cybertronian frequencies, but thanks to his coding skills, Silas was relying purely on human systems. The grin on Silas' real face confirmed that he had realized the same thing. He slowly began taking small steps backwards, away from both groups, not taking his eyes off of the Omega Key in Arcee's hand.

"The Combaticons?" Megatron asked, stepping through a Ground Bridge. "Well now this _is_ fortuitous. I knew my string of bad luck could not last forever."

Holy scrap on gasket.

"Sorry, Megatron. We're operating as independent mercenaries, now." Swindle shook his head. "If you want the relic, we're going to need to be compensated."

"What?!"

"I-I'll pay you!" Silas shouted. "Whoever's hiring, I'll beat them."

"Silas!" Arcee hissed.

"Sorry, Arcee, but I didn't come all the way out here to show up empty handed."

"Wait… how _did _you show up here?"

"Listen, you two can hash this out later. Our employer isn't paying us by the clock here." Swindle turned to Silas. "Sorry, buddy, but I get the feeling you're a bit out of our price range."

"Who's paying you?" Silas asked.

"Who do you think?" Starscream yelled from overhead. Transforming and landing behind the Combaticons. "You didn't expect me to just scrounge around in the wild like some scraplet, did you?"

"Starscream?!" Megatron roared. "But you were dead!"

"A common sentiment, these days." Starscream said, hands on his hips.

"Three Autobots _and_ Megatron, Starcream?" Onslaught asked over his shoulder, as the Combaticons formed a ring around the Seeker.

"Our price just went up." Swindle pointed out.

"Yes, yes, of course." Starscream waved his hand. "Just get me my relic."

"I'm not an Autobot." Silas said, stepping to the side again.

"He's worse." Starscream hissed. "He's _human_."

"_Really_ now?" Swindle said. "I didn't think the primitives on this planet had it in them!"

"Exceeding expectations is what we do." Silas shrugged.

"Now, how efficiently do you produce this battle armor? Is it unique or are there production facilities or-"

"Focus, Swindle!" Brawl shouted, smacking the smaller bot upside the back of the head.

"Uh, guys?" Vortex said. "We've got more company."

"_More_?" Megatron said, more than a little bit exasperated that he wasn't the center of attention here.

Scourge flew up next to Silas and transformed, taking in the situation. After a moment of silence, he turned to him. "Silas, you see, this is why I require a ranged weapon."

"Well-", Swindle began.

"Don't even think about it, Swindle." Blast-Off said, quickly.

"What? I was just about to inform Starscream that our price just went up. Again."

"We still have them outnumbered." Starscream pointed out. "Four of you handle these small-fry. One of you help me handle Megatron."

Megatron laughed like he hadn't had reason to laugh in months. "_Really_, Starscream? _Help_ you handle _me?_"

Silas moved closer to Scourge. Sideways and Arcee stepped off to the side together, and Megatron readied his sword at Starscream. Each side stood equidistant from each other, weapons readied at Starscream and his men. Nobody spoke.

Onslaught made the first move, hunching over to level his weapons against Megatron and unleashing a few dozen missiles. At the same time, Starscream vaulted over his back and fired his blasters at the Decepticon leader as well.

Megatron was a blur with his sword, spinning it like a windmill to block the incoming attacks, and jumping back before slashing it at the cluster, sending a purple blast towards them. Starscream and Onslaught rolled to either side at the same time to avoid the beam.

Blast-Off reacted next, blasting off (it really was a perfect name) above the beam's arc, holding himself in the air, and readying a fist at Scourge before beginning to thrust down at him. Swindle, on the other hand, didn't move at all, and as the beam approached him, a shell of interlocking hexagons formed to block it as it passed.

Like Blast-Off, Vortex chose to jump the beam, supplementing it with some kind of… lasso laser thing to anchor himself to Brawl, who grunted with effort as he tanked the blast to the back and was only forced forward a few feet.

Scourge lifted his hands just in time to repel a rocket-propelled punch to the face from Vortex, and struggled to block the equally sized robot's flurry of punches and thruster-assisted kicks. Scourge barely had time to push one hit away before another slammed into him, without any opening to get an attack in, and slowly but surely he was being pushed back.

Swindle chose to target Silas, or rather, Swindle's weapons chose to target Silas. The two clearly shared a preference for computer-targeted weapons, though Swindle shared most Cybertronians' affinity for lasers in place of rockets. Silas actually had to be light on his feet to avoid the blasts from Swindle's two shoulder-mounted laser turrets, a task made even more difficult by the fact that he was in the sand. After doing a quick roll around to Swindle's side, he used the moment when he was only in the range of one of Swindle's guns to launch a volley of rockets in his direction. All of them streaked directly towards him, but exploded a few feet before they reached their target.

"The best solar-shield generator that money can buy." Swindle said. "Yours if you act now!"

"Sorry, but I don't _pay_ for second-hand goods." Silas mocked, and lunged forward to slam his fists onto one of the turrets, and the shield activated again, though the turret itself stopped firing for a second. Swindle turned to face Silas and backed away, once again putting him in the path of both guns, and Silas was on the move again.

In the background, Arcee was dancing circles around Brawl, deftly dodging his stomps and punches, but firing at his thick armor with little effect. Brawl growled in frustration and caught one of Arcee's flying kicks in one of his massive hands and slammed her into the sand repeatedly before holding her in front of his tank cannon. It was the timely intervention of Sideways, who was in the middle of a twin-bladed duel with Vortex, that saved her life when he flipped back from his fight to slash at Brawl's fingers, making him howl in pain and drop her. Sideways pulled her up with one hand, blocked a slash from Vortex with the other, and jumped back into his fight.

Starscream had only gotten better at fighting since the last time, but Megatron was just too large, and the sword was giving him an incredible reach advantage over the crazed seeker. Starscream literally could not get close enough to Megatron to strike him, and Megatron seemed to have acclimated himself to the flow of the battle well, blocking and dodging Onslaught's rockets when necessary, and exploiting his reload periods to go on the attack, driving back Starscream who was doing his best to distract Megatron from attacking his ranged support.

"You've grown stronger, Starscream." Megatron laughed, swinging at his feet to keep him from stabilizing his stance. "You fight almost as well as a gladiator!"

"Funny," Starscream said, straightening his claws and running the length of the blade when it got stuck in the sand. "I was going to say the same thing about you." He swung at Megatron's face, only to lose his footing when Megatron jerked the sword back, sending Starscream stumbling back just before his talons could reach his eyes.

Scourge's defense hit a wall when he literally found himself backed into a wall, and Blast-Off _still _wasn't showing any signs of slowing. He stumbled when he bumped against the rocks, and Blast-Off seized the opportunity and sent a boosted shin into Scourge's midsection, knocking him flying off to the side. Scourge pushed himself up and flapped his wings in frustration, kicking up a small sandstorm. Blast-Off raised a hand to push away the dust blocking his optics, and Scourge went on the offensive, lashing out with little regard for his own safety, this time with Blast-Off attempting to block his blows. Raf realized at that moment that while Blast-Off could easily use his thrusters to improve his _strikes_, he had no way to use them to assist in _blocking_, at least, not if he wanted to be precise about it. Once he said as much to Scourge, Scourge grinned and pressed his attack, doing his best to ignore when Blast-Off got in a blow or two to his chest a long as he could use the opportunity to hit him back twice as hard.

Silas was still having no luck penetrating Swindle's shield, and from his HUD, he saw that he was running short on rockets. It was a small mercy, then, that Swindle's lasers weren't actually doing all that much damage. Instead of repeating the strategy that definitely didn't work, he decided to try to repeat the tactic that had achieved a slightly different result, and ran forward to body-slam Swindle. The shield came to life, and for a moment looked like it was sputtering, but held, knocking Silas back. Silas backed up and coughed, turning to see that Scourge was still sending massive amounts of sand flying around them. He thundered through it, hammering his fists against the shield which was shining more dimly with each blow.

"Easy, easy, easy!" Swindle pleaded. "That's expensive equipment you're smacking at, pal!"

"You should have purchased a warranty." Silas said, ramming the shield with his shoulder, literally shattering it as if it were glass. The feedback caused Swindle to stumble backwards into the dirt, and look up to see Silas pointing his remaining missiles at his face.

Swindle looked to either side, up at Silas, and shrugged. "Huh… OK, yeah," he said, extending a hand to Silas. "A good salesman knows when to cut his losses."

"Smart." Silas agreed, sheathing his missiles and reaching out to pull his hand up. As soon as their hands clasped, an electric current arced from Swindle to Silas, making the human scream as, according to the readout, six hundred thousand volts coursed straight through his veins.

Silas collapsed to the ground as Swindle stood up to dust himself off. "I never said that this was the time to cut my losses." He stood over him, readying a comically large missile launcher at Silas, who could only groan in disapproval. Swindle grinned, and put the rocket away. "On the other hand, why burn bridges with a potential client?"

Silas lost consciousness with a smile.

Sideways' swordfight went on, but Sideways was clearly the superior swordsman, and after a series of clashes, finally managed to knock a one of his swords out of his hand. He began using his two swords even more forcefully, twisting, slashing, and slamming against him, until Vortex pulled his electro-whip out again, coiling it around Sideways' ankle and yanking it back, compromising his footing. Sideways stumbled, but did not fall, and drew himself closer to Vortex to keep him from building up momentum with the whip. Vortex responded by holding out his sword hand and sending out some kind of shockwave out, pushing Sideways all the way out to Arcee. Vortex pressed his attack with the whip, and the two individual fights melded into a single two on two fight as Arcee began dodging whip attacks and firing at the considerably less armored Vortex, and Sideways found himself having to avoid Brawl's strikes and blasts. After a whip strike from Vortex missed Sideways, Arcee caught it and yanked it back, sending Vortex face down in the dirt.

"This doesn't hurt!" Brawl said, effortlessly blocking Sideways' sword slashes with his thickly plated forearms, and catching him in the face with a backhand. "Have you finally had enough?"

Arcee saw this, and, struck with idea, pulled the whip back, dragging Vortex with her, until the whip formed a tripwire behind Brawl. Sideways wiped his chin and sprinted forward, sending a flying kick into Brawl's face, and making him step back and trip over the whip and land flat on his back.

Brawl tossed and turned in the sand, and attempted to jump back up, only to discover that he could not. "You think this is funny?" He demanded. "I will crush you all!" He attempted to transform, only to find himself _still_ flipped over, and changed back to robot mode, tossing himself from side to side in a futile effort to right himself up again.

Arcee quickly stumbled to her feet and ran to the recovering Vortex, reaching for the antenna sticking out of his shoulder and snapping it in two.

"Ratchet! Ground Bridge! Now!" She shouted, and Ratchet said something back. "Combaticons! Starscream! Megatron!" There was a pause, and Arcee looked at her hands, and then patted herself down. "Scrap, the relic! Where is it?"

The entire fight stopped. Megatron hat pinned Starscream to the ground with his hand while holding his sword up to Onslaught's chin with the other. Blast-Off thrusted back, away from the melee with Scourge, and brought himself with the rest of his the Combaticons. Scourge rushed to bring Silas back to his feet, and Blast-Off attempted to do the same for Brawl.

"Guys, I've got it in here!" Swindle shouted, opening his chest and pulling the key out briefly before shoving it back in. The other Combaticons formed up around Swindle.

"You know what to do!" Starscream shouted, pushing against Megatron's hand. "Return to the-"

Starscream didn't finish his order, because Megatron decapitated him. Megatron said nothing at first, standing up and looking down at his body. Then he jammed his sword into Starscream's chest. He stabbed over and over and over again, slicing Starscream's corpse to pieces, and then slicing the pieces to slivers. Finally, when there was nothing left of the Seeker, Megatron took a deep breath (or made a sound like he did, anyway). He turned to the observers. "Ah. Out of all of the people I've torn to bits, that one will hold a special place in my spark. Now, Combaticons, please, consider your contract voided, and deliver the relic to me."

"Sorry, Megatron." Onslaught said. "But our contract still stands. Swindle, now!"

Swindle clicked his heels together, and a Ground Bridge portal opened beneath them, dropping all five Combaticons through and closing before a sword beam from Megatron could reach.

The five remaining bots looked at each other. Megatron was positively shaking with rage, and pondered the Dark Star Saber in his new hand. "The Power of the Primes." Megatron said. "Godhood in my hand. And yet, victory constantly eludes me." He pointed it as the still disoriented Silas. "You. This is all because of _you_ and your _humans._" There was more contempt in the word "humans" than Megatron had put into all of his uses of the words "Optimus Prime."

Silas stumbled to his feet and pointed his laser designator at Megatron. "It's over, Megatron. We've _all_ lost. Go home, or you will be incinerated where you stand."

"Your _filthy monkey tools_ stand _no chance_ of harming me!" Megatron spat. "_I. Am. Megatron._"

"He's not bluffing, Megatron." Sideways said. "This guy's packing enough ordinance to slag us all. Go home, you're power drunk."

Arcee nodded in agreement, smugly waving him goodbye.

"This isn't over, human. Soundwave, Ground Bridge."

Megatron walked through the portal that opened behind him, and then there were four.

"Well, this was a charming excursion," Silas said, "but if you'll excuse us, Scourge and I have a country to invade. Base? A Ground Bridge, if you would be so kind."

A bridge opened for Silas, and he stepped through. Scourge, on the other hand, chose to fly back to Carbombya the old fashioned way.

* * *

After Silas was repaired _again_ and had his ammunition refilled _again_, it was back to Carbombya City. When he emerged through the portal to the Presidential palace, he found his two hundred-man raid team on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs, along with a few dozen members of the Royal Presidential guard, and Abdul Fakkadi himself bound and gagged next to the crashed helicopter.

The MECH commandos began grunting desperately when they saw Silas come through, and moved their heads back and forth between Silas and the copter. Silas looked around and saw no hostiles, and approached the copter, where something resembling a land mine was waiting. When Silas got close, an image of General Bryce projected itself onto the side..

"Hello there, Leland." Bryce greeted.

"For the last time, General Bryce, I told you to stop calling me that." Silas growled.

"And what would you have me call you instead, _former_ Colonel Bishop?" Bryce sighed, taking the cigar out of his mouth. "I'm not gonna call you Silas. That's the stupidest name I have ever heard of. When'd you go and make up a thing like that?"

"When I was deployed here, actually." Silas gestured around him. "To destabilize _this_ country, all those years ago. An assignment that I completed _successfully_ because I know what needs to be done to achieve _results_. Unlike _some_ people."

Bryce frowned. "You haven't changed a bit, Leland. I'd say you were as stuck in the past now as you were then, but that would mean that you would have come to terms with the fact that the wall fell by now."

"I'm _not_ stuck in the past." Silas spat. "_You_ are just afraid of the _future_!"

"_No_, Leland. I _live_ in the _present_."

"What do you _want_ Bryce? What have you _done _here?"

Bryce's frown deepened. "What have _I_ done? _I_ haven't done anything. It's you and your band of deserters, traitors, and fascists that you need to be worried about. All the innocent people that are about to die."

"What are you talking about, Bryce?"

"I can't believe it." Bryce continued. "Just days after attacking two separate US military facilities, MECH goes and assassinates the President of a sovereign nation with a nuke in his palace."

"Wh-what?" Silas demanded, activating his radiation scanners and looking around.

"All these people, dead. MECH is an even greater threat than I thought. The public will demand action. We'd have to crack down on people with views like yours. After our humanitarian effort to stabilize Carbombya, of course."

"You're a psychopath, Bryce, did you know that?" Silas said as his suit detected a nuclear device in the wreckage of the helicopter.

"At least I'm not a damned Nazi, Leland."

"It's not Nazism!" Silas shouted. "It's authoritarian transhuman technocratic-"

"So long, Leland." Bryce said, before the transmission cut. "I'd say goodbye, but god hasn't been with you in quite some time."

Silas screamed into the sky as Scourge landed next to him. "What's happening?"

Silas didn't respond, he only began tearing away at the shell of the helicopter to expose the bomb. Raf looked at it and realized that it was actually a pretty weak device, ten kiloton yield at the most.

"Can you disarm it?" Scourge asked. "The Scientist. He could-"

"Negative." The Scientist said. "Not in five minutes. Guys, I'll bridge you back to base. The mission is lost."

"With the most of our commandos in the city? No." Silas announced. "MECH lives or dies here, and as goes MECH, so do I."

Scourge looked around, and slumped his shoulders. "What's the blast radius on this thing?"

Raf did a quick calculation. "About a third of a mile. Two and a half miles if we include radiation."

"Yep, I think I can make that." Scourge said, hefting the bomb up to his stomach.

"Scourge, wait, are you serious? That's a ridiculous risk."

"Risk, Raf? Look at me. This is what I was _made_ for."

"You don't have time!"

"I do if you stop talking about it. Silas, yes or no?"

Silas looked at Scourge, his men, his hands, and then to the bomb. Three minutes left. He nodded. "You know, Scourge, no matter what happens, you will still be mankind's greatest achievement."

"Not bad for a labor saving device, huh?" Scourge lightly bumped Silas with his shoulder and blasted off northeast, towards the Mediterranean.

As it turns out, Scourge wasn't lying. Traveling a little under Mach 1, he made it three miles out in thirty seconds, dropped the bomb, and doubled back, landing next to Silas and looking out to the shore.

"So…" Scourge said, crossing his arms, "by my estimate, we have about forty five seconds left."

"Yep." Silas said, looking out to the sea, and activating his video recorder.

"You know…" Scourge said after a moment. "That could have been a decoy, and the real nuke could still be somewhere in the city."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Silas said.

"Why?"

The bomb went off, launching water and steam into the air, some of it miles into the sky before it settled down.

"Because," Silas said, sending the video to the CYCLONUS OS, and from there to the MECH mainframe. "General Bryce is still a moron."

"Mmmf! Mmmf!"

Silas looked down and saw that Abdul Fakkadi struggling to loose himself from his bonds.

"I almost forgot what we were here for." Silas pointed to a group of commandos. "Scourge, if you would?"

Scourge nodded and delicately used one of his claws to split the rope on one of the troopers. "Help the others, because my hands are big."

In a matter of minutes, all two hundred MECH troopers were freed, and recovered their weapons. Abdul remained tied up and the troopers sat him up against the crashed chopper.

"You have saved my country, Silas!" He cheered. "For that, I would even allow MECH to stay here and join my army!"

"Come on, Fakkadi, are you really going to try that?" Silas sighed.

"Ah, er… yes." Fakkadi hung his head. "I suppose you wouldn't fall for that. But Silas, you have to understand. Starscream, the Combaticons! Th-they forced me! Gave me an offer I couldn't refuse! And, I admit, was too good to pass up!"

"Indeed it was." Silas said, pointing a finger at his face. "And it was also too good to be true. So now I need to ensure that you don't try to betray me and mankind, ever again."

The Supreme Military Commander's face went white as a sheet. "No! You have my word of honor, Silas!" Abdul shook his head rapidly. "In fact, I swear to you on the grave of my mother's camel and my uncle's goat and even my sister's donkeys! A-and did I say my brother's sheep and my nephew's roosters? Such fine roosters you never did see!"

"Oh my god, please stop." Silas pinched the bridge of his nose. "If only because I know you, and the fact that leaders with your kind of… vision are hard to come by these days, I will settle for a… permanent restructuring of the Carbombyan Revolutionary Liberation Defense Forces."

"A… restructuring?" Abdul gulped.

"Indeed. As the first Nation-State that MECH will take into the future, you can look forward to a continued presence of Troopers, MECH-TECHs, Sweeps, and M-Cons in your country as… advisors." Silas pointed at the commandos around him. "And get to know these gentlemen, because they will be something of a permanent fixture in your palace."

"Of… Of course, Silas."

"Oh, chin up, Abdul. Your country is about to become the safest on the planet in the war to come."

"The war to come?" Abdul asked, suddenly focused. "Do you mean… the time is almost upon us? The light will shine in the darkness?"

"Yes. What we saw today was the beginning. MECH has already been making preparations, as you've seen."

Abdul tensed up and lifted his hands, pulling them down and out in one quick motion to break the zip-ties binding him, and stood up to his full height. He looked around at the troopers, paying no mind to the rifles they raised to him. "Your army seems a bit… small, Colonel."

"Quality over quantity, Abdul. Besides, raw numbers is what you were for." Silas snapped a finger. "Oh, yes, that reminds me. We'll be taking Al-Fakkadi Airbase. Sorry, not sorry."

"Bryce _was_ wrong." Abdul grinned, exposing one of his gold teeth. "You're not a Nazi, you're an _American_."

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Idk, man.

-Stuff.

-Cool stuff.

* * *

AN: Next chapters are going to be slow coming. Chapter 16 likely won't come until _next_ Sunday. School is getting in the way.

I had a _lot_ of fun writing this chapter. I estimate... five more left? Not 100% sure here.

Reviews, people. Give me reviews, particularly of this chapter's fight.

Tell your friends, spread the word. I want their feedback too.


	16. Revelations

"Ridiculous! We can't wager the galaxy on a road race!"

\- Optimus Prime, Aurex Cluster

* * *

_I cannot believe that Silas delayed my plans for this… this vanity project._

Oh, Unicron was talking again? He hadn't said anything for the whole invasion.

_There was nothing to say. The only thing gained so far this day was the successful deployment of Project Damocles and a show of force against the Autobots. All of which proved useless when he failed to secure the Omega Key._

Why did Unicron even want the Omega Keys? Raf didn't need to be a genius to know that he didn't plan to revitalize Cybertron.

_I don't want all of the Omega Keys, just one._

To, what, hold it over the Autobots? To destroy it and doom Cybertron forever?

_As much as the latter would bring me joy, I know that that would not necessarily work. Like me, Primus is eternal. Even on this plane of existence, the blessing that Megatron forced inside him has as much destroyed him as Optimus destroyed me with the Matrix. My physical form has been disabled, yet I endure into infinity, and so does my brother. Such has our conflict continued for untold eternities._

So then…?

_I am considering the possibility that it may in fact be destiny for Primus to return to function. If that is the case, it will be on my terms, and by my will. The Omega Key is a bargaining chip like no other._

Something didn't seem right about that…

_You don't have to agree or even understand, you only need to obey._

Raf sighed and leaned back in the command chair, struck once more with a moment of introspection. How had so much changed in a year? One day, he was racing his toy car near the bridge, the next, he was friends with alien robots, and now…

_Now you're a terrorist._

No he wasn't, he was just-

_An associate with terrorists? You helped them manage the invasion of a country. They didn't kidnap you. You're the third highest ranking member by now._

What? No, it was… MECH-1.

_MECH-1 obeys Scourge._

Then it was Scourge.

_Scourge obeys you._

The Scientist, then.

_The Scientist is second only to Silas. And were you older, Silas would make you the Scientist's equal._

Raf watched on the Scourge and Silas feeds as MECH troopers marched through Al-Fakkadi Airbase, consolidating their control and bringing in more equipment. He looked around the room he was sitting in, where MECH Commandos were silently standing guard while MECH TECHs monitored the computers. Number three? Was he really in that deep?

The comm screen beeped again. Another message from Project Oracle, the next Iacon relic had been located.

"Well, I'm kind of busy here," Silas said when he heard the news, "and also incredibly tired. Send MECH-1."

"All Sweeps are escorting the Carbombyan retreat from Egypt." Raf pointed out.

"Seven, then?"

"Seven is supervising the occupation of Al-Fakkadi Airbase." Raf sighed. "All other numbered agents are likewise occupied."

_Oh yes, you have no responsibility or influence within this organization._

OK, OK, Raf got it.

"You're going to make me send out Scourge, aren't you?" Silas groaned.

"Retrieving things is what he does." Raf pointed out.

"That's right." Scourge said, transforming up into robot mode in the airbase tarmac. "Where is this relic? Should I fly, or will I be taking the Ground Bridge?"

"Great Lakes." The Scientist said. "I have the coordinates ready. Take the Bridge."

* * *

"Alright, base, I've spotted the relic jar." Scourge whispered. The Scientist's coordinates had put him in the middle of a rock clearing. Maybe some kind of dig site, he wasn't sure. Scourge looked around at the high cliffs ahead of him and the water behind him, while the relic container sat, uncovered, on a rock pile. Scourge shook his head. "Why do you people keep sending me into these obvious traps?" His eyes zoomed in on the relic, and then highlighted recent disturbance previously made in the ground.

He turned around at the sound of an electromagnetic distortion, and saw Bulkhead and Smokescreen come through. Smokescreen was about to say something, but Scourge held out a hand a brought a finger to his lips. Bulkhead gave him a curious look, and Scourge pointed at the bumps in the dirt surrounding the unprotected relic. When Smokescreen opened his mouth to speak again, Scourge flapped a wing, blowing air over the dirt, and exposing a cluster of three previously buried Dreadwing bombs. It was obvious that there were dozens more.

Bulkhead looked around, then down to his feet, and his shoulders slumped. Smokescreen smiled and bounced from foot to foot, pointing at Scourge and spreading his hands vertically, then to Bulkhead and spreading them out horizontally, and lastly to himself, pushing his hands together. Bulkhead and Scourge looked at each other. There was no arguing with that. Scourge held out a hand and gestured for Smokescreen to retrieve the relic.

Smokescreen gave them both a thumbs up, and pointed to his arm, where he had affixed the resonance blaster. Pointing at the ground in front of his feet, he created incredibly low frequency pulses that vibrated the sand, exposing more of bombs, packed pretty closely together. Once he had exposed a few, he took small, light steps into the minefield until he found a relatively clear area. Then he repeated the process, exposing the bombs ahead of him and avoiding them until he reached the relic jar.

"Good moves, kid!" Bulkhead cheered. "Now get the relic and get out of there."

"Wait!" Scourge shouted before Smokescreen could tug on the lid. "Why are we even assuming that the relic is in the jar in the first place? Clearly the Decepticons have been here already."

"I mean… it's Dreadwing. He loves making sport out of this kind of thing."

"Well now that's just no fun!" Dreadwing shouted. Scourge looked up to see him on the cliff overlooking them. "Here I'd hoped to see Smokescreen blow himself, and you, sky high. But I won't let you cheat me out of the evening's entertainment." Dreadwing produced the second Omega Key in one hand, his detonator in the other, and pressed the button. The area began to beep, and Smokescreen fearfully eyed the container he was holding and chucked it towards Dreadwing before running back towards Scourge and Bulkhead.

Scourge jumped as high into the air as he could, wings spread to keep him afloat, but it was too late, and the explosives went off. The container exploded first, meters away from Dreadwing, who barely had time to turn around and shield himself. The others buried around exploded half a second later, the combined shockwave pushing Smokescreen and Bulkhead into the water, and caught Scourge's wings and sent him further into the air. When the dust cleared, Scourge looked down at Bulkhead and Smokescreen. Bulkhead was standing up, and Smokescreen was attempting to stand in the water. From the looks of it he was slipping in the mud.

"We're fine!" Bulkhead shouted, pointing back. "Stop Dreadwing from getting the relic!"

Scourge looked up and saw Dreadwing struggling to stand and dusting himself off. When he noticed Scourge still hovering, he looked at his hands and realized that he had dropped the Omega Key. He pushed himself forward to grab it, but Scourge dropped out of the sky and tackled him back to the ground. The two fliers rolled around in the dirt until Dreadwing pushed Scourge up off of him. The two stood up, and Dreadwing drew his sword.

"So you are the one they call Scourge, the tracker." Dreadwing said. "I met your huntsmen, once. Did you know that?"

"I knew." Scourge said, moving in a circle and spreading his wings for effect. "I heard they shot you in the back like the animal you are."

Dreadwing barked out a laugh. "And who is calling whom a beast? You, who gallivants around, mauling your enemies with your bare hands, serving the whims of these… these _humans_?"

"I hunt because that is what I was made to do. I hunt because that is who I am. I am self-aware. I am self-actualized." Scourge leapt forward again, grasping Dreadwing's sword with one hand and his neck with the other. "What do you do? You waste time talking about 'honor', and yet you boast openly about having a master, as if that were something to be proud of."

"Are you under the impression that these humans view you as an equal?" Dreadwing said, tearing Scourge's hand from his throat and striking him in the face. "Megatron told me what the one called Silas said of you. Have you heard?"

"Of course." Scourge backed up and tried to kick Dreadwing in the face, only to meet his shins in a cross kick. "He called me, hmm… I think his words were 'a labor saving device', right?"

"Precisely. So you see, you are lower than I am." Dreadwing smiled and thrusted with his sword straight for Scourge's chest, only for Scourge to push the blade aside and toss him off balance.

"There is a difference between understanding my function and deliberately lowering myself." Scourge slammed his elbow back, knocking Dreadwing into the dirt. "I was made to hunt by MECH, for MECH. Doing what I do will only make me better at my intended purpose. You, on the other hand, bow before a madman. What is your function, I wonder? Were you put into the universe to obey Megatron, a glorified savage with barely enough 'honor' to lubricate my eye socket?"

"Were my brother Skyquake alive to hear your words, he would tear out your voice box from your throat." Dreadwing spat, sweeping Scourge's legs and scrambling back to his feet.

"I can safely say that it would be utterly impossible for Skyquake to harm a single rivet on my armor." Scourge laughed, backing up on his back.

"You know nothing of my brother." Dreadwing snarled, pointing at Scourge's neck. "Nothing!"

"I wouldn't say that." Scourge said, backing up further. "Like, I know that he wouldn't be stupid enough to lose track of the relic during a fight."

"What?!" Dreadwing demanded.

Scourge reached behind his back and held up the Omega Key that he had managed to sneak into his grasp during the melee, and then pushed with his wings to go flying off of the cliff before Dreadwing could reach out and stop him. Just before he hit the ground, he flipped into a mid-air transformation and blasted off over the head of the Autobots slowing down just long enough to partially open his bomb bay and show them the relic before closing it and picking up speed again.

* * *

"Good job on the relic hunt, Scourge," The Scientist said when Scourge came through to the science building. "But, uh… what is it?"

Scourge held the key in his hands and pointed it at a wall. Nothing happened. "Well, that's all I figured. Maybe…" Scourge tapped the key to random parts of his body to no effect. "Nope, no sudden upgrades either."

"Well, leave it here. I'll work on it after I finish fixing this Ground Bridge."

"Is something wrong with it?"

"No, I'm just trying to figure out how on Earth to get it to open up entry points from anywhere in the base, like the Decepticons do." The Scientist flipped through his plans. "I want my lab space back. Using my space as a staging ground was a ridiculous idea. I can barely get anything done. And now I-"

Another message, from Project Oracle. Those lab techs were on fire. The next set of coordinates were decoded and they said that there was just one set of coordinates left.

"Should I go for this one?" Scourge said.

"No. I will." Silas said. "I trust that Seven can manage things here on this end?"

"Don't worry, sir." Seven radioed in. "Carbombya will remain as you leave it."

Silas nodded and came through the Ground Bridge. He did a double take when he saw Scourge's relic. "Where did you get that?"

"This?" Scourge asked. "This was the most recent relic that we found."

"Odd…" Silas' eyes focused. "It is literally identical to the one that the Combaticons took."

Scourge held it up and turned it around. "Would you look at that, it is. What does that mean?"

"It means, well, I'm not sure, but I…" Silas trailed off, and his optics flickered, briefly turning purple before returning to their normal yellow glow. He remained silent for a second. "I have a theory. Come on. Take me to the next relic."

_Do not fail me, Cyclonus._

* * *

The Ground Bridge coordinates took Silas into the middle of a heavily wooded area. He looked around for a relic jar, not finding it, but was satisfied to see that the Autobots hadn't yet arrived. "Now, if I were an ancient alien superweapon hidden in the woods, where would I be?"

"Well, well!" a voice shouted. Silas turned around to see Knock Out, standing confidently several meters away. "Just the flesh-demon I'd been waiting to see."

Silas took a step back and immediately began scanning the area around him for more Insecticons. Not finding any, he turned back to Knock Out and laughed. "Oh my, if it isn't the Doctor of Doom himself!" He raised his hands in mock submission. "Please, don't hurt me! I didn't mean to desecrate the body of your bumper-buddy!"

Knockout's eyes widened a bit, but his face returned to neutrality and he held out his hand and telescoped his energon prod. It looked a bit different from last time, with a red shaft and a gold design snaking around the handle, coming to a head that resembled a shark's mouth, with electricity arcing between the teeth.

"What's that there? You got yourself a new shock prod? That's cute." Silas grinned and stepped forward, cracking his knuckles (a useless gesture, but Silas's human habits hadn't been dropped) until he was looming over Knock Out. "Look, I don't have time to waste on Mengele, the Metrosexual Muscle Car. Why don't you run along, wait for the next relic to pop up, and hope that I'm not around."

Knockout looked up at Silas, and, in a move much faster than MECH's data suggested that he should have been capable of, jabbed Silas with the prod. Silas hopped back and swore in pain. "Alright, be that way." Silas said, and hopped forward to swing his fist at Knock Out's face. Instead of knocking the bot's head off of his shoulders, his fist passed harmlessly through Knock Out, who vanished with a predatory grin.

"What?" Silas said, taking a step back, only to be shocked again. He turned around to see Knock Out smiling at him. Silas lunged at him, and again passed through. "What is this?"

"This?" Knock Out asked from behind Silas. "This little masterpiece is called the electro-disrupter." A second Knock Out stepped forward from the trees. "Megatron was kind enough to make one for me." Two more Knockouts emerged, now surrounding Silas from all sides. "A jolt from this baby lets me patch into your sensory neural conduit. And the more I shock you…"

"Agh!" Silas looked down to see that Knock Out had jabbed him in the sides with the prod again. When he struck at him, His arm passed partway through and got stuck, as if stuck in molasses.

"The more pronounced the effects!" Eight Knock Outs said in Unison.

"Then you're not real!" Silas declared. "I just need to find the real you and blow you to scrap!"

"O ho ho! Aren't you a clever one?" One of them mocked. Silas growled and launched a rocket at him. It passed through harmlessly and exploded.

"But guess what?" another asked, smiling as it took a direct hit from a salvo of finger rockets.

"You'll-"

"-never-"

"-find-"

"-me!"

Silas closed his eyes to block it out and think carefully. "OK. This is clearly a distraction. These shocks aren't painful, your clones can't hurt me. So if I just- graagh!" Silas was shocked in his leg and fell to one knee. As he dropped, he clutched the Knock Out that did it and smiled when he felt solid metal. "Gotcha!"

"Do you?" Knock Out smiled, and shapeshifted into Airachnid.

Silas yelped and tried to throw her away, but she kept her grip on his arm and began wrapping her extra arms around his torso. "Siiiilaaas…" She whispered, almost seductively. "You're just so smart… and strong… and handsome. You'll make a fine specimen for study." Her face came in close. "Won't that be fun? Every human on Earth, dead. Then it'll just be you, me, and my dissection table."

Silas' eyes widened, and he flailed his arms around and smashed Airachnid to the ground, rose to his feet, and stomped on her abdomen, repeatedly until she broke to bits.

The growing crowd of Knock Outs laughed together, and one of them stepped forward, and Silas targeted it with his laser designator.

"Hello, Silas." He greeted. "Look at your foe."

Silas looked down at Airachnid and saw that her pieces had transformed into smaller Airachnids.

"Now back to me."

The Knock Out speaking split into five more.

"Now back at your foe."

The Airachnids began to swarm around Silas' legs, rooting him in place and swarming his body.

"Now back to me. Luckily your foe is actually me."

The Airachnids swelled and metamorphosed into four full-sized Knock Out clones, two restraining each of his arms.

"But if you weren't a parasite, your foe wouldn't be me."

Silas felt a shock and fell on his back. The world swirled and he found himself on the bridge of the Decepticon warship.

"Look around. You're on the Nemesis with the foe your host was friends with."

Silas struggled as the speaking Knock Out stepped forward and crouched down to his face and gleefully tapped his eyeball with one of his claws.

"What's in my hands?" An Omega Key appeared in Knock Out's hands. "It's the relic you're after. I don't know what it does but at least I have it. Look again, it's the disruptor." Silas was shocked in the chest again. "Anything is possible when you control your opponent's reality. I'm Megatron."

And then Knock Out was Megatron. "Where are the rebel bases?" He asked, cracking a grin that was just a bit too wide.

"No, no!" Silas shouted, struggling in vain against the Knock Outs holding him as they dragged him on the ground into a black abyss. "Get your filthy hands off of me, you damned, dirty machines! No! No! No! Nooo!"

Raf checked on the signal and confirmed that Silas wasn't actually moving. "Silas." He shouted. "Silas!"

"Help!" Silas pleaded. "Get me out of here! Oh oh god!"

"Silas, you're not actually on the Nemesis, it's just an illusion!"

"Tell that to my pain receptors!" Silas tensed up to concentrate as he came up with an idea. "Rafael, I need you to remotely shut down all non-life support functions!"

"Can't you do that?" Raf said, pulling up the CYCLONUS OS anyway.

"I'm having a little bit of trouble concentrating and… Inside me! They're indestructible… and they're everywhere!"

"Silas, if I shut you down, it'll be hours before Knock Out's illusions wear off. You'll be locked in until the suit reboots!"

"Do it!"

Raf entered the command, and the Cylas MECH-Suit MK II began entering shutdown procedures. As the feed cut, and the video began shifting back to that of the forest, the sounds of blaster fire could be heard, and the last thing that could be seen was Sideways, crouching down and examining his body.

* * *

"I don't care what _deal_ you made. He's a known terrorist and fugitive, wanted by the United States Government for treason!" Agent Fowler shouted.

Raf blinked, or tried to blink. He was inside Sideways' mind again, back inside the Autobot base.

"Agent Fowler, General Bryce. I am sorry, but Silas is _our _prisoner, and he is clearly defenseless. I cannot turn over one who has done so much to atone himself in our eyes to your justice system. If any of his words carried a semblance of truth, he would not receive anything approaching a fair trial." Optimus responded.

"So, what are you gonna do then? Release him back to MECH?" Fowler demanded, leaning forward on the guard rail to look Optimus in the eye. "Just keep him there? For all you know, he could be dead in that suit."

"Thenthere is no cause for alarm, regardless of the outcome." Optimus said. "I will be honest, I also have suspicions that the United States Government will abuse any technologies that it harvests from Silas."

"That's none of your business, Prime." General Bryce said on the main screen. "All you need to do is turn Leland over to us, and we can put this business behind us."

"With all due respect, General Bryce, what you do with our technology and our war _is_ our business."

"Oh I'm sorry, one moment, I need to make a call." General Bryce held up a hand to his cheek. "Hello? Patent Office? Yes, I need to know of any records you may have from one Prime, first name Optimus?"

Optimus tilted his head in confusion.

"What? Giant alien robots don't have any claims to ownership over intellectual property regarding robotic battle armor? I never would have guessed." Bryce made a clicking sound. "Don't worry, Optimus. I just got word that this stuff is public domain."

"Optimus, just give them Silas." Ratchet said. "Why risk our relationship with Agent Fowler for the sake of this… this…"

"Human?" Agent Fowler volunteered.

"Precisely." Ratchet said obliviously.

"Guys, this isn't right." Miko said, sitting on the deactivated Apex Armor. "Silas doesn't deserve this. He wouldn't do this to you guys!"

"Yes he would." Bulkhead and Ratchet said.

"OK, but he wouldn't cannibalize you!"

"He can, would, and has." Bumblebee hummed, pointing to his abdomen.

"OK…" Miko looked down, "but he-"

"I'm going to stop you right there, Miko." Arcee said. "He would, in fact, gleefully hand us over to the Decepticons."

"Would he? I mean. Would he now?" Miko asked. "Remember the whole reason that we agreed to work with MECH in the first place? It was to turn them into good guys!" She stood up and pointed to the hallway towards their vaults. "MECH's wrecked Decepticons with us! They helped us find relics! They… They helped us rescue Bulkhead!"

"No. If I remember correctly, MECH-7 helped you rescue Bulkhead." Ratchet said when he saw the regret on Bulkhead's face. "And he told us that MECH would have bombed the site even if it meant killing them."

_I can't believe Cyclonus allowed us to capture him. It's not like the guy. Usually Cyclonuses are pretty wild._

What did Sideways know about CYCLONUS?

_Did you… did you mean to think in all caps there, pal?_

Pal?

_Er… right. Master. Jeez. I'm just sayin' that you usually pick decent soldiers to take up his mantle._

But Silas is a trained soldier. He only had to be shut down because Knock Out was interfering with his systems. He'd be back online soon enough.

_He's alive, then?_

And fully conscious. He just needed time.

_Well, Smokescreen is watching him. Optimus Prime didn't trust anyone else not to try anything funny._

"Agent Fowler, General Bryce, I have made my decision." Optimus announced. "Silas will remain a prisoner in our custody indefinitely. We will maintain him in a stasis pod until the situation on this end becomes less urgent."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Prime." Bryce said.

"Sorry?"

"I had hoped that you would display your loyalty by turning over a terrorist to us, just as we aid you in numerous ways. I see now that Agent Fowler was wrong. You are loyal only to yourselves."

Fowler looked up at the screen. "Sir, Optimus just-"

"That's enough, Bill. Consider yourself demoted, because as of now, _I_ am the chief liaison between the Autobots and the United States. Am I understood?"

"But Prime-"

"Am I understood, Agent?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I hope you find your principles worth clinging to, Optimus Prime. Bryce out."

The connection cut.

"Uh, guys, what just happened?" Miko asked.

"General Bryce offered Optimus a test." Fowler said. "And Optimus failed."

* * *

_This situation must be rectified. Silas cannot remain in the custody of the Autobots. He is far too valuable._

But they said they wouldn't hurt him. Silas would be fine.

_Surely you do not believe that Silas' biology is compatible with that of an Insecticon stasis pod._

But-

_Shut up, boy. For once, just do what I say without your needless questioning._

Ok, but… one more question.

_Ask, and obey._

Why was Raf constantly being booted into Sideways' mind? What was up with him?

_Sideways is my herald. Not my first, and not my best, but in the conspicuous absence of Ramjet, he was the only one that I could summon to this world on such short notice. He is… special. _

So why wasn't Unicron in his head with him?

_Lacking in Dark Energon to directly link me to him, Sideways instead relies on a relatively crude telepathic ability to reach out and seek my consciousness, wherever it lies. As it happens, there is currently something in the way._

What was that?

_Your brain, fool._

Raf looked at the cut Silas feed, and switched over to the Scourge view. Closing his eyes, he activated the microphone.

"We have a problem. Silas has been captured." Raf reported.

"Are you kidding me right now?" The Scientist turned away from his study of the Omega Key and looked up at Scourge. "By who, Decepticons or Bryce?"

"Neither, it was the Autobots." Raf sighed.

"So, then, what's the problem?" The Scientist scoffed, and returned to his work. "Call them up and tell them to turn him over."

"They aren't going to. They're working with General Bryce now."

"Figures." The Scientist didn't stop his studying. "So what do you want me to do about it?"

"I… I don't know? Rescue him?" Raf suggested. "This is kind of a big deal."

"MECH doesn't do rescues, kid." The Scientist said. "Silas knew the risks."

"But what if… what if they torture Silas for information?" Raf tried. "It would compromise operational security!"

The Scientist was unconvinced. "Silas would sooner die than betray MECH. The odds of anyone torturing anything out of him are infinitesimal."

"Then… then… what if General Bryce takes the Cylas suit? What if they get into CYCLONUS?"

"Hm, that would give them access to our Ground Bridge system… you're right." The Scientist nodded. "Scourge, take some Sweeps, stand by to blitz the Autobot Base."

Raf smacked his forehead.

"I'm telling you, kid. Silas made these rules for a reason, and I made a promise." The Scientist's voice was cold. "He'd never forgive us if we- hang on, incoming message."

Project Oracle had reported in, with the location of the final relic. Or… not quite.

* * *

"Smokescreen?" Bulkhead asked.

Sideways looked up at the main screen in the Autobot Base. Optimus had finished decoding the final Iacon entry at the same time that MECH did, it seemed, and instead of coordinates, he instead revealed a picture that slowly resolved itself into Smokescreen.

"Is this that hotshot's idea of a joke?" Arcee asked.

"I don't even know anymore." Bumblebee whistled.

"Maybe he knows where the key is." Bulkhead said.

"And never bothered to mention it?" Arcee asked.

Ratchet turned to them. "A more likely possibility is that Smokescreen himself somehow _is_ the key without knowing it."

"That's all I needed to hear." Silas said.

The Autobots turned around to see Silas standing in the tunnel that led to their vaults, holding Smokescreen in a headlock. The Autobots reacted instantly, pulling their blasters on him.

Silas smiled and pointed his fingers at the rookie's forehead. "Nah ah ah." He teased. "Here is what is going to happen. You are going to activate your Ground Bridge, and send me back to my base with Smokescreen here, or I am going to launch a bunker buster into this empty little head of his."

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Clancy Brown.

-You gonna wash your hands?

-No... 'cause I'm evil.

* * *

AN: I can't believe I finished this one on time.

This one was interesting because as I typed it, I felt as if not much had happened, but then I realized that I had already met my word count target and thought "wow, damn, would oyu look at that." which I guess means I'm becoming a better writer or something.

It's also good that I finished this late because it means that I show up at the top of the recent update listing for Transformers fanfiction, and more readers is always good.


	17. Haste

_"Well, what did you expect, you metal megalomaniac? That I would die for your insane ambition?"_

\- Blackarachnia, Primax Cluster

* * *

_What do I do?_

Uh…

_What do I do, Master? Do I stop him or not?_

"Silas, please." Optimus began. "The relic you seek is-"

"I heard you. I heard everything." Silas pulled him closer and began taking side steps towards the Ground Bridge. "Smokescreen here is going to take a nice trip to my science lab. Where dozens of MECH technicians are going to open him up, find whatever superweapon he's hiding, pull it out, and only then will we patch him up, good as new, and send him back to your base."

"I told you he could not be trusted." Ratchet shouted, taking a step forward. "I told all of you-"

"Back up, Doctor of Doom." Silas said, flipping up his shoulder launcher and pointing it at the group. "If Ratchet in particular makes any moves towards me, I'll obliterate this entire facility right here and now. MECH is an idea. They'll retrace my steps, find my body here, and pull the final relic from Smokescreen's mangled husk."

"Why didn't we restrain him?" Arcee asked the others.

"He was comatose!" Ratchet yelled.

"Optimus, if he leaves with Smokescreen, any hope we have of taking Cybertron is shot." Arcee said.

That couldn't happen. Sideways had to protect the Autobots and Silas.

_Wow that's helpful. Ok, um… got it!_

Sideways stepped back and, faster than anybody could react, shot at a control box mounted to the wall behind him. The lights went out, several alarms went off, and the slamming of metal could be heard in the distance. "Those were the blast doors, Silas." Sideways explained, and then slammed his fist into the control panel for the Ground Bridge. "You're not taking Smokescreen away."

Seriously, that was his plan?

_It was the best I could think of!_

Smokescreen seized the distraction and drew his elbow back into Silas' stomach (which was really just Silas) and slipped out of his grip, backing up to the other Autobots and aiming his blasters at him.

"It's over, Silas." Ratchet said, swapping out his hands for blades. Miko quickly hopped onto the Apex Armor button and let it envelop her.

"I don't think so," Silas smiled and transformed down, reversing back towards the vaults.

The Autobots stood stunned for a moment, and Ratchet finally broke the silence.

"Sideways, we _needed_ that!" Ratchet shouted.

"It was the best I could think of, doc!" Sideways snapped.

"That was not an optimal solution, Sideways, but Smokescreen is safe." Optimus agreed. "Unfortunately, now we are _all_ trapped in here."

Not really, there was the main silo door, if they could get up to it.

"Split up and search for him." Optimus ordered. "Stay in groups of two. Arcee and Bumblebee, travel together. Sideways , Smokescreen, keep an eye on the relics as you search, yes Sideways, that includes Smokescreen himself. Miko, Bulkhead, guard the exits. Ratchet, watch the security cameras. I will go to the basement and manually restart the generator"

The Autobots nodded and split off towards their assigned tasks. The five members of the search party sprinted down the main hallway, and Optimus took a service elevator down to the basement. Arcee and Bumblebee turned through the hallway of storage units that functioned as the Autobot vault, and Sideways followed Smokescreen down the hallway that led to the training area.

Sideways led the way, sword in one hand and blaster ready as he turned the corner into a second hallway. They walked slowly, with Sideways meticulously checking every corner and shadow for any hint of Silas.

"I can't believe it." Smokescreen muttered. "We had the guy right there on an operating bed, and now he's running around our base. This is my fault. Stupid."

"Don't beat yourself up over it." Sideways said. "Cyclonus seems like an expert warrior."

"Cyclonus?"

"I mean, uh, Silas."

"Oh, yeah." Smokescreen sighed and checked another corner, making sure that nothing could sneak up behind them. "Still, I-"

"Shut up for a second." Sideways raised a hand. "Look."

Sideways peeked around a corner to see a hallway with a humongous hole blasted through the wall, easily big enough to fit a bot of Bulkhead's size, with rubble littering the ground outside the room.

"Smokescreen to Ratchet." Smokescreen whispered. "We think we've got him in the Training Room."

"Proceed with caution. Bumblebee and Arcee will circle around to your location."

Sideways peeked into the empty room, easily the size of an aircraft hangar, and didn't see any sign of Silas. He stepped over the rubble and spun around, sweeping his gun over the whole room, but it was empty.

"Something's not right." Sideways noted. "The rubble is _outside _of the room, not inside. Like something blew its way out."

"Where did you say you were?" Ratchet asked.

"The training room."

"Oh… that hole wasn't made by Silas, it was made by Bulkhead and me."

"How?" Sideways said, stepping back into the hallway and gesturing for Smokescreen to follow.

"I was under the influence of an unstable form of Synthetic Energon that boosted my strength and agility… as well as my aggression and impulsiveness."

"Ha, yeah, I remember that." Bulkhead chimed over the comm. "You were awesome… at first."

"I must have missed this." Miko said, likely speaking into Bulkhead's ear since she lacked a comm of her own. "Why don't you guys use it before missions?"

"Ratchet said some… ah, very uncool things to Optimus, and then tried to fight Megatron by himself."

"What kinds of things?" Smokescreen asked.

"Nothing." Bumblebee hummed. "Smokescreen, you should forget about this."

"Oh, come on, I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Smokescreen laughed.

Comm chatter went silent for a moment. Sideways could hear blaster fire in the distance.

"Arcee, Bumblebee, what's going on?" Ratchet asked.

"Everyone!" Arcee radioed. "Silas found the red energon! He- urgh!"

More metal rapidly clanged against metal.

"Scrap!" Smokescreen shouted, turning around and starting down the halls back the way he came.

"Smokescreen, wait!" Sideways shouted, but Smokescreen had already turned the corner. "Damn, bro!"

Sideways took off after Smokescreen, struggling to keep pace with the eager young warrior, until they reached the intersection that would lead them to the vaults or the main chamber.

_The scrap I go through for you._

Smokescreen stopped short as a large purple blur sped into the intersection. Silas stood before them, vibrating in place and twitching at incredible speeds.

"Thzwwzilzvzd." He said, jerking his head back and forth.

"What?" Smokescreen asked.

His face twisted in concentration and he finally said, in a modulated tone, "This was ill-advised. Too fast."

"I'll slow you down!" Smokescreen said, swapping his hands back in and throwing a punch at Silas. He moved aside from the punch in a flash. "Wha-?"

Smokescreen attempted to punch Silas again, and each time, he missed. Silas smiled, and ducked in between Smokescreen's arms and jabbed him in several spots on his chest and neck, and the rookie dropped to the ground immediately.

"Agh!" Silas clutched his forehead and stepped back from Sideways and the fallen Smokescreen. "I just want out!" He shouted, and flashed forward, closed the distance between him and Sideways, and punched him in the gut, sending him flying back down the hall. He looked down at his shaky hands and groaned. "I should not have done this. Miscalculated dosage."

_OK, master, this is getting ridiculous._

"Hey! There he is!" Bumblebee beeped rapidly in the distance. "He can't understand me! Arcee, try to restrain him!"

_Capturing is a no-no, huh?_

Sideways pulled out his blasters and fired a few wide shots at Silas, who dodged them all. Silas swayed for a moment after the last shot, and dropped to his knees and made a wretching sound before noticing Arcee and Bumblebee. Arcee leaped into the air with a roar to grab at Silas's arm, and he quickly twisted around to punch her in mid air. Arcee's back slammed into a wall before she fell to the ground.

Silas smiled weakly before transforming down just in time to avoid being tackled by Bumblebee, and sped back down the hall again. Sideways helped Arcee up, while Bumblebee did the same for Smokescreen. The four of them looked down the hall and turned to each other.

"We need a plan." Bumblebee said. "He's moving too fast for us to take him one on one."

"He may be moving too fast," Arcee said. "but he's definitely not thinking too fast. His body, that is, his _real _body, is barely keeping up with his suit's speed."

"So then how about we ambush him?" Smokescreen suggested. "get him to dodge all four of us, really shake him up a bit?"

"Oh, Autobots!" Silas modulated voice echoed throughout the base. "I'm terribly sorry for all the trouble I'm causing, what with the blackout and the beatdowns. But I just thought I should inform you that you'll soon find yourself with a bit of a… bug problem."

"A bug problem?" Sideways asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Smokescreen asked. "There aren't any bugs that can hurt us on this world."

"There's no way Silas could have smuggled in an Insecticon." Bumblebee whirred.

Technically, bugs weren't always insects, the word could equally apply to any small arthropod, like an…

"Airachnid!" Arcee shouted.

The groaning and twisting of metal could be heard in the distance, and then a series of rapid scrapes and taps.

Oh, bad. Oh, bad. Oh, bad, bad, bad.

_I take it I have a new priority one?_

Yeah, a thousand times yes. Airachnid could not be allowed to leave the shielded base. If she did, she would know where the Autobots were _and _re-establish contact with the Decepticons. Oh, man. Silas didn't actually _know_ that. He _wouldn't_ know that. He thought the Insecticons were a decentralized hive mind. That was the _whole reason_ he was stuck in that suit.

_OK, you know, I think I can still work with this. Directives, in order, go._

Priority one was to prevent Airachnid from leaving the base alive. Priority Two was to make sure that Silas _did, _without letting him kill or capture any Autobots in the attempt_._ Priority three was to retrieve the Omega Key_._

_From the Autobots?_

…

_Well?_

He wasn't sure.

_What do you mean, "You aren't sure?"_

He just wasn't, OK?

_Autobots or Silas? Whose side am I really on?_

Both? Neither?

_That doesn't make any sense!_

"Come on, Sideways. It's you and me!" Smokescreen said, slapping him on the back. "This is no time to phase out! We gotta find Airachnid!"

_Now there's a thought._

"Actually, Smokes, this is the _perfect_ time to phase out." Sideways ran down the vault hall, past the two doors that Silas had already smashed through, and opened the door to the phase shifter. Smokescreen opened the door next to it and grabbed the resonance blaster. Sideways grabbed Smokescreen by the hand and the two of them began dashing through the halls and walls, following the sound of the scrape of Airachnid's legs as she skittered through the halls.

It occurred to Raf that, having been in stasis lock, Airachnid was completely unfamiliar with the layout of the base, and would likely wander the halls in an attempt to escape, likely with Silas, instead of trying to face down all of the Autobots.

They ended up back where they started, in the hallway leading up to the training room. Smokescreen let go of Sideways as they attempted to listen. To the conversation happening on the other side of the wall.

"Well, well, Silas," Airachnid said, apparently pacing about the room, "MECH continues to astound me with their… scientific vigor."

"Oh yes," Silas said, his voice slightly less modulated, "we are continuing to move closer and closer to the perfect meld of man and machine. It will be exquisite."

"But why?"

"Why what?" Silas asked. "We are taking human life to its fullest potential, making the greatest species, even greater."

"What are they talking about?" Smokescreen asked, before Sideways shushed him.

"But why do you assume that humans are the greatest lifeforms?" Airachnid asked, her voice a mockery of childlike innocence. "Surely there are other animals on your planet, equally useful for experimentation. Why use yourselves?"

"Oh, really? And what kind of animal did you have in mind?"

There was a pause.

"Right, stupid question." Silas said. "Still, once our exit is secured, MECH will be happy to welcome a new scientist and kindred spirit into the fold."

"Did you get what you came for in the first place, dear Silas?"

"Unfortunately not, but this has gone on long enough. The Autobots are no doubt attempting to restore power to their base, and I am suffering adverse effects from their speed-enhancing energon. Can you tunnel out of this rock or not?"

"I can tunnel through anything; this room is just the shortest distance."

"Excellent. It's time that we made our move, then."

_Nope._

"I don't think so, Airachnid!" Sideways declared, darting into the room and readying his blasters. "You're not leaving this base alive!"

"That's right!" Smokescren said, running in behind him. "We- whoah!"

Sideways turned around to see that a web trap had pulled Smokescreen up as soon as he had walked through the hole. He looked at his own wrist and remembered that he was still wearing the phase shifter, and hadn't sprung the trap first.

_This thing's awesome_.

"More Autobots." Airachnid hissed. "Leave this to me, Silas."

"Urgh." Silas stumbled back and leaned against a wall. "Yeah, you go ahead and do that."

Sideways pulled out his swords and pointed one at Airachnid. Airachnid smiled and extended the legs on her back to guard herself. "I will slice you to pieces before you can even put a scratch on me."

"Don't think so." Sideways said as they began circling each other. "This world has a height-based hierarchy of combat effectiveness, and you're about a meter and a half too short to take me on."

"Size isn't everything, sweetie."

"It really is. Have you ever actually _seen_ somebody beat up a taller opponent without assistance?" Sideways gestured vaguely upwards. "Megatron is nearly twice my height. Optimus is just barely shorter than that. And if my memory serves, you're the shortest Decepticon I've seen so far. I don't know why Megatron calls himself 'Emperor of Destruction' when he should just call himself 'The Almighty Tallest'."

"Heh. I'll remember this little exchange the next time I face Soundwave."

_Bro?_

"Soundwave exists here?" Sideways asked, "What do you know about him?"

"I know that the next time I see him, the whole world will hear him scream!" Airachnid said, darting forward at Sideways and swinging five bladed arms at him. The sixth was missing its tip.

_I don't believe this._

Sideways began taking steps back, blocking each strike with one of his swords without issue, and sent a kick squarely into Airachnid's chest, sending her onto the ground, but she quickly hopped back onto her feet.

Sideways lunged forward, jabbing his sword straight for Airachnid's neck, and she moved her head slightly to the side just in time to avoid being skewered, and brought a hand to the side of her neck to hold Sideways' wrist in place and to stop the energon that had begun to spurt out of the wound. She grasped at one of Sideways' antlers and began attempting to jerk it around with the other hand while flailing at his sides with her back arms. Sideways drew his head back and slammed it straight into Airachnid's forehead, knocking her back, and began slicing at her legs and forcing her back further.

"You will SUFFER!" Airachnid screeched, causing the energon to spurt out even faster, so she calmed down and hopped up, doing her half-transformation into "spider" mode. Supporting herself with her back feet, she charged straight at Sideways, pointing the leading legs straight ahead with the blades fully extended. Sideways dropped onto his back and shoved his blades up as she passed over him, impaling her abdomen, making her yelp and jump up off of him. She had three wounds now, and she was dripping energon profusely from each of them.

"What did you say about Soundwave?" Sideways said, advancing forward until Airachnid had backed herself up against a wall. He held a blade underneath her chin and pressed it forward until energon began to trickle from the other side of her neck. "You wanted the world to hear him scream? Come on then. Let me hear you scream, first."

Airachnid struck at him with one of her free arms, and Sideways drew his free hand up, slicing it off without even looking. She then weakly grabbed at that wrist with her right hand, desperately trying to stop the bleeding on her neck with her left.

"I said, scream." Sideways leaned in closer. "Scream!"

"Aaagh!" Airachnid screamed. The energon was leaking past her fingers.

"Aaagh!" Sideways repeated, mockingly. "Come on, then! You call that a scream? I don't think anybody heard it. Scream!"

"AAAGH!" Airachnid screamed again. Her voice began to sound warbly, like it was going through a dial-up connection.

"Shame, if only Arcee could see this." Sideways said. "And Jack, come to think of it."

"Th-they wouldn't want this." Airachnid gasped.

"Maybe you're right…" Sideways relaxed his arms a bit, taking his blade off of Airachnid's neck and letting her drop to the ground.

"I knew you were reasona-"

"But it's what I want." Sideways jabbed his blades into Airachnid's chest so hard they got stuck in the ground. At the same time, the lights went back on.

"Sideways… you killed her." Smokescreen said, from his web trap.

"Yep." Sideways muttered, pulling his blades out and scraping the energon off on his shin before stowing them back.

"Optimus. Optimus wouldn't have done that."

"And that's why Arcee, Ratchet, and Wheeljack are just about ready to launch a coup against him."

"Sideways, what… what are you talking about?"

"You're an idiot, Smokescreen." Sideways walked towards him. "In all my travels, in all of my adventures and battles across _eons_, I have never met a more incompetent excuse for an Elite Guardsman. Not only are you a mediocre fighter, but you're brash, impulsive, and a _horrible_ judge of character. Such a failure that you were meant to guard Alpha Trion, one of the Thirteen, mind you, and somehow managed to screw it up so badly that you slept through a war."

"I'm going to be a great warrior, someday!" Smokescreen said back. "Just like Optimus!"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Sideways said. "You're a loser soldier in a pathetic army of seven ragtag misfits who don't know when they're finished. You're _already_ the perfect Autobot."

"Sideways… What's gotten into you? If you had something to say to me… or to Optimus, we could have-"

"Oh just shut up." Sideways said, drawing his hand back. "I have a job to finish."

"Sideways, wha-"

Sideways shoved his hand into Smokescreen's chest… without breaking the metal. Right, the phase shifter! He rooted around for a moment before grabbing something long and flat, and drew out the final Omega Key.

"You have been holding the key to Primus' rebirth in your chest cavity and you didn't even know it, you _idiot_." Sideways said, holding up the key.

Smokescreen stared in surprise, and hung his head.

"Just… let me down, Sideways." Smokescreen muttered. If robots could cry, Smokescreen was about to do it.

"Uh, no." Sideways said, strapping the key to his back. "Like I said, I have a job to finish."

"But the mission's been accomplished." Smokescreen said. "We just need to get this back to the other Autobots."

"Ok, let me spell this out for you." Sideways said, and tapped his chest. It glowed red for a moment before switching to purple. On the finish in Smokescreen's reflection, you could see Sideways' insignia change from that of an Autobot to that of-

"A Decepticon!" Smokescreen shouted, and Sideways punched him in the chin, knocking him out.

He shouldn't have done that.

_Really, Master? That's the part of the plan you objected to?_

He turned to Silas, who unfolded an armload of missiles and pointed them at him.

"I'm going to save you the trouble and tell you that that wouldn't kill me. Now get up so I can get you out of here.

"Just in time for this headache to clear up… Airachnid's body…" Silas said slowly as he rose to his feet. "Science. Potential."

"Yeah, I figured you'd think that." Sideways hefted her body over his shoulder and heard stomping coming from the hallway. The Autobots were on their way. He grabbed Silas' wrist with one hand and activated the phase shifter. By the time the Autobots ducked under Smokescreen into the room, the two of them had already made it through the wall.

* * *

"Silas to base. We require a Ground Bridge… and a medic."

Raf's eyes shot open. He was thirsty. And hungry. How long had he been out?

"Base. Bridge. Now."

There was another retching sound and a groan.

"And a cleanup crew for my suit. Eeugh."

Raf sighed and hit the intercom for the Scientist. "We need a Ground Bridge for Silas. He isn't well."

"I told you he'd get out fine, kid." The Scientist said, looking up at the security camera. "And this is the perfect time to test out the Bridge." He pulled a lever, and Silas stumbled through the portal with Sideways, lumbering and nearly tripping over himself until he could back up into his suit's repair berth.

Raf stood up and stretched, then dashed over to the science building. As he walked in, he saw MECH technicians swarm around Silas, as he fumbled around his chest before giving up and just ripping the panel off and dropping it to the ground.

"Fix that." He ordered, barely able to keep his head up. He looked bad. His veins were bulging, his skin was pale, and his chest covered in vomit. On the monitor, his heartrate was dropping fast, and his breathing was erratic. "Mission accomplished."

"Silas, what happened out there?" the Scientist asked, looking up at Sideways as he dropped Airachnid's body in a corner.

"I hate them all… so… so much." He muttered. "Just let me sleep for a minute."

"Yeah, no. Focus. Stay awake. Who's this guy?"

"Sideways. He's a friend."

"He looks like a Decepticon."

"Mhmm."

"Silas. Silas!"

"What?!"

"Stay with me, here."

"I know what I am doing." Silas snapped as a technician began wiping his mouth and chest. "I am in complete control."

"Right." The Scientist turned to Sideways. "Care to introduce yourself, NBE?"

"He just said my name is Sideways." He shrugged, looking at the Scientist's desk and picking up his Omega Key.

"Hey. Hey! Put that down!"

"Shut up, human." Sideways said, pulling the second key form his back and holding them up side by side. "You don't even know what these things do."

Sideways was covered in red dots as every grunt in the area took aim at him.

"Come on, I know for a _fact_ that _you _guys couldn't kill me."

"Wanna bet?" The Scientist said. "Humans are really, _really, _good at killing things."

"Yeah, but…" Sideways held the keys up to his chest, and his metal plating shifted from purple to grey, and he pushed the keys into it as if it were a liquid. Once both keys were completely engulfed, his chest retook its normal shape, solidified, and switched back to purple. "I'm made of stern stuff."

The Scientist raised his hands to his mouth, and spoke in something of an excited whine. "Are you made of _nanobots_?"

"Trans-phase generator. Liquid metal."

"That's _almost _as good!" The Scientist nodded. "We… we need to study you!"

"Umm… no." Sideways said, and pointed to Airachnid. "Study her. Silas apparently had ambitions for her. I, on the other hand, have a job to finish."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm boarding the Nemesis for something of a… family reunion."

"Not with our relic, you're not." The Scientist said.

"Especially with your relic."

"Boys, if T-1000 here tries to leave, scrap him!"

"No…" Silas muttered. "Part of the plan…"

Sideways laughed in three tones at once, and then looked at Raf. "So you're all the last, best, hope for humanity?" He activated the phase shifter and looked at the rest of the gathered men. "You're gonna need a miracle."

And with that, Sideways ran through the wall at full speed. Raf looked out the window and saw him begin to hover a few feet off of the ground, nod in affirmation of something, and turn into a cloud of grey dust and fly off into the sky.

And then Unicron said something.

Something Raf really didn't want to hear.

Something that was, in its own way, the scariest thing the Chaos Bringer could say.

_This was not how I planned this._

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Answers!

-Questions!

-Jokes!

* * *

AN: School is kicking my ass, and Dragon Ball Xenoverse just came out. Expect biweekly update from this point on.

Um...

It's 3 AM as I publish this, and I need to sleep.

Woo!


	18. Termination

_"Years from now they're going to ask us: where were you when they took over the planet? We're gonna say: we stood by and watched."_

\- Agent Seymour Simmons, Tyran Cluster

* * *

"I cannot believe that the final relic of Iacon has remained in Optimus Prime's base this entire time." Megatron growled as he entered the bridge of the Nemesis with Dreadwing and Knockout following closely behind him. "We will locate the Autobot base, invade it, and retrieve their relics, even if we have to tear their recruit to pieces."

No. No, no, no. Sideways was absolutely forbidden from assisting the Decepticons. This was not part of the plan.

_The situation has changed, master. Events are spiraling out of control._

"Been there, done that." Sideways smiled, holding up his two Omega Keys. Knock Out reacted quickly, extending his prod and standing in front of Megatron. Dreadwing picked up on the hostility and pulled out his minigun, But Megatron did not react. "Please pardon my unannounced visit, Lord Megatron. But at long last, my mission is accomplished."

"Mission?" Dreadwing asked. "What trickery is this?

"This is an Autobot, Lord Megatron." Knockout said. "I saw him personally traveling with Bumblebee and Arcee."

"Yes, but look." Sideways said, pointing to his chest. "Would an Autobot have a Decepticon insignia on his chest?"

"Optimus Prime did." Knockout said. "I engraved it myself."

"Ok, yeah, but... I'm purple. And my visor isn't blue." Sideways said, his voice completely deadpan. "I'm obviously a Decepticon."

"Lord Megatron, is he mocking me?" Knockout asked, gesturing between the two.

"It would appear so." Megatron said. "I would mock you, too, if you displayed this much difficulty comprehending the idea that a Decepticon had been engaging in long-term deception."

"A _mole._" Dreadwing spat. "An agent without honor, like a scraplet fleeing a crashing ship."

Sideways massaged his temples, below the antler. "I'm sorry, uh…"

"Dreadwing."

"_Dreadwing_. But how many relics have _you_ retrieved for Lord Megatron?"

Dreadwing clenched his teeth.

"That's what I thought." Sideways said. "And what about you, Knock Out?"

"I'll have you know that I retrieved three." Knockout said, standing proudly.

"Really, Knock Out?" Megatron said, staring down the medic. "You may have retrieved this most recent relic, but you lost the shield generator you retrieved on a mission to retrieve the Forge of Solus Prime, a mission with which _I_ had to assist you. Really, your total should come to one and a half."

"Thank you, Lord Megatron." Sideways nodded. "I, on the other hand, bring you _four_." He held out his hands. "Two Omega Keys, a Phase Shifter, and a Resonance Blaster."

Oh, oh! Those were fakes! To distract Megatron!

_Nope, these are the real deal, straight from the Autobot vault, just like you saw, master._

Why? Why would he do that? The Decepticons were enemies, without exception.

_I know what you said, and I'm adapting to the situation. You're going to have to trust me on this, because I've been at this a long time._

A long time? But… But Sideways' life span was a speck compared to-

_Oh, stop it. You think I haven't figured out that you're not really Unicron?_

Of course he was! How else would the connection be formed?

_I don't know. Maybe my master is redirecting me to you. Maybe he chose to be a twelve year old child in this world, and hasn't grown into his power yet, but one thing's for sure, the kid I'm talking to has no conception of true chaos power._

"Oh, that's _all_?" Knockout said. "I don't know, I still have suspicions."

Megatron smacked Knock Out upside the head.

"Lord Megatron." Dreadwing said. "I am still confused. I have never seen this supposed spy before. We don't even know his name."

Megatron and Knockout stared at Dreadwing for a moment, then at each other and shook their heads in wonder.

_That's… That's the point of a spy…_

"Scraping the bottom of the barrel for your guards, my liege?" Sideways asked. "I suppose you wouldn't want anything more than an uneducated brute at your back."

"I am Lord Megatron's _First Lieutenant_, scum." Dreadwing insisted.

"I am so sorry, my lord."

Dreadwing drew his sword, but Knock Out held a hand out to stop him. "I think, perhaps, we have gotten off on the wrong foot. I too share Dreadwing's curiosity as to your origins. Granted, Breakdown had a better memory than I for these matters, but I have never seen you before, either."

"I am Sideways." Sideways began. "I was a spy that got my start during the Silvart campaign, after the war had basically come to an end. Me and my drone handlers, Rook and Crosswise, infiltrated Autobot groups wherever we could, sowing discord and confusion among their ranks, all the while feeding intelligence to Decepticons on the outside. We often had to maintain deep cover for teracycles, and often the Decepticon commanders we fed information to did not even know our names."

"Convenient." Knock Out said.

"Until I was captured by one Primal Major. I don't know how I was compromised, but I was. I was put aboard his ship, the Axalon, and meant to be transported Primus-knows-where. But I got lucky. The ship fell into the pull of a black hole, and in the ensuing chaos, I managed to take an escape pod, _and_ knock the rest of the ship, crew and all, into the hole."

"Nice."

"I know, right? I was about ready to give up then. To find the nearest inhabited world and fight no more forever, but the pod had its own plans, and locked me onto the nearest Autobot distress beacon, on _this_ world. When I found Optimus Prime himself, desperate for troops and welcoming me into his good graces, well…"

How much of that story was even true? Sideways told it pretty well.

_Well, the Malgus Cluster was a bit weird, but most of this story was true, minus the bit about "accidentally"tracking Smokescreen. I just wanted to go to Shanghai._

"It was destiny." Megatron smiled. "And here you stand."

"And here I stand." Sideways agreed.

"Besides the successful capture of four Iacon relics, for which I am very satisfied, what else have you accomplished?" Megatron asked.

"Unfortunately, Lord Megatron, I couldn't kill its inhabitants, or even just Optimus. Sorry about that, but I left in a bit of a hurry."

"I will forgive your lapse, Sideways. When I crush Optimus Prime with my bare hands, my victory will be all the sweeter." Megatron made a hand crushing motion as if to demonstrate. "Ah, tell me, what is the purpose of these identical relics?"

"These," Sideways held them up and turned them around to give the Decepticons a full 360 degree view, "are Omega Keys. I'm not sure how, but Optimus says that when all four are brought together, they can be used to restore Cybertron to life. I have two. You have one."

Did Sideways really not know how?

_Of course I know how. We need to locate the Omega Lock. But Megatron isn't going to find it this early in the game. There was still stuff to do._

"And the Combaticons have the last." Megatron growled. "Then it is their base that we must locate and invade, in order to retrieve the last key." Megatron's smile returned. "At long last, victory is so close I can almost _taste_ it. You have done a great service on this day, Sideways. Your bravery is commendable."

Dreadwing opened his mouth in shock, but a glare from Megatron stopped that objection in its tracks.

"Well then, Sideways, allow me to apologize for my earlier coldness." Knockout said, stowing away his prod, offering him a hand, and smiling, "and welcome you back home to the winning team."

"Glad to be back among the like-minded." Sideways nodded, and shook Knock Out's hand.

"Dreadwing, be a good mech and put our latest acquisitions in my vault, wouldn't you?" Megatron said.

"Careful, big guy, don't drop 'em." Sideways said as he handed them off to Dreadwing. As the Lieutenant walked out of the sliding door, Soundwave entered the bridge cocked his head in confusion at Sideways, and then turned to Megatron.

_Brother? What… what have they done to you?_

Brother? What was Sideways talking about?

_Back in my home universe, before you came… or after? During? Time is weird, but let's say that at some point in time relative to your arrival, Soundwave was from Planet X, like me. He can't hop like I can, but still… There's always a Soundwave, and I have to see him, no matter what._

But how were they brothers?

_We were the last of our kind. He was the only friend I had._

"He is a friend, Soundwave," Megatron explained, "What do you have for me?"

Soundwave's face displayed a picture of Onslaught's, along with a visual representation of a sound file.

"A high frequency signal with an embedded message, hm? Play it back."

Soundwave nodded and Onslaught's voice spoke "Lord Megatron, we have obtained something of interest to you which seems to be of no practical use to us."

"That would be the final Omega Key." Sideways said.

"In exchange, we ask only for a full pardon for our previous altercation, and to be welcomed back into the Decepticon army, with our full ranks and privileges."

Megatron was silent for a moment. He looked at his new hand, then to Sideways, and then to Soundwave.

And then he began to laugh.

It was quiet, at first, like a chuckle you might have if you remembered an old joke. Then it slowly began to build up into a deep, raspy booming laugh, fitting of a galactic warlord. Knock Out began to chuckle nervously as well, seeing that something was funny, but not quite sure what. Megatron continued to laugh. It had been almost a full minute, and he was showing no signs of stopping. His laughs were getting quicker now, and higher pitched. Knockout began to worry when he heard a scraping noise, but Megatron's smile just got bigger. The Emperor of Destruction dropped to his knees and laughed harder. He attempted to calm himself down, but each time he looked at Sideways or Soundwave, he laughed even harder than before.

The Vehicons on the bridge stopped their work to look at Megatron, and then to Knock Out, who shrugged in confusion. Dreadwing came back to see Megatron pounding at the floor nearly doubled over with raucous, booming laughter. Through it all, only Soundwave did not make a move or a sound.

Finally, after about two minutes, Megatron stopped, wiped a non-existent tear from his eye, stood up to his full height, and cleared his throat.

"Very well." He declared. "Tell the Combaticons I will graciously and mercifully accept their terms, and that I fully expect them to put forward their best effort in in the now fully united Decepticons."

Soundwave nodded and replayed Megatron's statement, minus the words "Tell the Combaticons", and shrugged. Megatron nodded in approval, and a green check mark appeared on Soundwave's face before winking out.

"Lord Megatron, who's this?" Sideways asked, pointing to Soundwave.

"Ah, you may not have met." Megatron said, smiling. "This is Soundwave. Our communications chief and, if need be, our spymaster."

Sideways stepped closer to Soundwave and began looking him up and down. The silent Decepticon did not move, but the turn of his head made it clear just how strange he found it that a newcomer was not reacting with perturbed aversion at the sight of him. Sideways came back around to the front and tapped at Laserbeak.

"Is something the matter, Sideways?" Megatron asked, stepping forward almost as if to put himself between the two.

"What'd you _do_ to him?" Sideways asked, taking a step back. "He's barely a Cybertronian anymore… What… Why?"

Megatron stopped smiling and exchanged a glance with Soundwave. He stepped closer to Sideways and leaned in close, baring his shark-like teeth.

"Soundwave will not say anything." He growled, no louder than a whisper. "But as a senior officer with loyalty to the Decepticon cause beyond question, he will be shown the utmost respect at all times, regardless of his modifications. Am I understood?"

Sideways nodded, and looked to either side at the Decepticons in the room who had apparently decided that they saw something really interesting away from his direction.

"Please answer audibly."

"Yes, Lord Megatron, I gotcha."

"Then you would do well to apologize at your earliest convenience." Megatron put a hand on his shoulder. "Now would be convenient."

"I'm, uh... sorry, Soundwave. We cool?"

Soundwave nodded.

"Excellent!" Megatron said, patting Sideways on the back just a little bit too hard. "Now that that unpleasantness is behind us…"

Soundwave's face displayed a set of coordinates.

"Excellent. Soundwave, let us go and retrieve our wayward warriors!" Megatron turned to Knock Out. "And escort our friend to his new quarters. He can have, er… Airachnid's chamber."

"Yes, my liege." Knock Out "Come along, Sideways."

Sideways followed Knock Out out of the bridge, but took one last glance at Soundwave's face before the door closed. From there it was a long, silent walk through the halls of the Nemesis, past a variety of patrolling Insecticons and working Vehicons. Some of the Insecticons began to growl at him as he passed, and the Vehicons whispered amongst themselves, but a glare from Knock Out put them back on task.

In the middle of one hallway was a section of destroyed wall, blasted outwards into the hallway, with scorch marks on the floor and ceiling, and metal warping on the opposite wall and surrounding area.

"Sorry about the mess." Knock Out muttered as they walked past the hole. "We just had a bit of an infestation."

"Of what?" Sideways asked as he peered through the hole, and noting the melted, twisted remains of what may have possibly been laboratory equipment.

"Humans."

Seven would be so disappointed when he told him.

Airachnid's room, it seemed, was at the far aft end of the ship. Knock Out keyed in a password, and then gestured for Sideways to place his hand on the panel next to the door. The door blinked from red to green, and then hissed open.

The room was empty, save for a flat steel slab, a table with a set of rusting tools, and what looked like an oversized chemistry lab.

"Yes, the previous occupant was a bit of a _weirdo_." Knock Out explained. "But the room should be fine."

Sideways dragged a finger along the steel berth and found it splattered with a thin layer of dried energon. "Was this an operating table or a bed?"

Knockout shrugged and hummed an "I don't know" sound.

Sideways sighed and sat down on it. "So… what happened to Soundwave?"

"What do you mean?"

"What's… wrong with him?"

"There is nothing _wrong_ with him." Knock Out said. "Soundwave has simply chosen to augment his damaged systems with certain cybernetic enhancements." Knock Out paused and smiled in no direction in particular. "For the greater glory of the Decepticons and Lord Megatron."

"I see…" Sideways frowned.

"Oh, come now." Knockout laughed. "It isn't as bad as all that. It's not like he made some sort of profane pact with the Chaos Bringer, or Lord Megatron punished him by turning him over to Shockwave." Knockout scratched his chin. "Well, I suppose the last part is half true, but it wasn't really a _punishment_. It was really a reward, all things considered."

"But what happened? What could have damaged him like that?"

"There is no way I am retelling this story within fifty miles of the Nemesis." Knock Out put his hands up. "If you'd like to know more, ask Soundwave or Megatron. On second thought, don't do that, unless you want to take on Starscream's old job."

"First Lieutenant?"

"No, Megatron's practice dummy."

The two stood there in awkward silence.

"So…" Sideways said, standing up from the slab. 'Wanna take me on a tour of the ship?"

"Gladly!" Knockout nodded. "Wouldn't want you getting lost on the floating fortress we call home."

"Knock Out!" Megatron's voice shouted from the hall speakers. "We are in position. Report to the deck immediately."

"But that'll have to wait." Knock Out sighed, and turned around to go back the way he came. Sideways followed without a word, and the two took an elevator to the flight deck.

On the deck, some hundred flight Vehicons were standing in formation on either side flanked by about fifty Insecticons. Above the two of them was a platform, where Megatron stood, overlooking the troops, with Dreadwing and Soundwave standing beside him. Megatron looked down and gestured for Knock Out and Sideways to join him. Knock Out took the stairs and Sideways followed, with the latter taking a place next to Soundwave. Soundwave turned and faced him, and Knock Out cleared his throat and pointed to the other side of the platform. Sideways looked at Megatron, and he glared at him and gestured to the space next to Dreadwing on the far side. Sideways slumped his shoulders and moved, and Knock Out took the spot next to Soundwave.

"Alright, is everybody in position, Soundwave?" Megatron asked.

Soundwave nodded.

"Then allow the Combaticons to board."

Soundwave held out a hand, and a Ground Bridge portal opened on the edge of the deck. Onslaught came through first, followed by Swindle and Vortex, and finally by Brawl and Blast Off. Once they came through, the portal closed behind them, and the Vehicons readied their blasters, holding them by the wrists and pointing them in a safe direction.

"Come forward." Megatron shouted.

The Combaticons walked slowly forward through the center aisle, and each row of Vehicons turned to face them as they passed. Finally, they stood just in front of the raised platform, so that they had to look up at over a 45 degree angle to see Megatron.

"Stop." Megatron declared. "You may kneel."

The five Combaticons looked at each other and dropped to their knees one by one.

"Lord Megatron," Onslaught said, "we have-"

"Silence." Megatron ordered. "Do you have the relic?"

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Onslaught said, and gestured to Swindle. Swindle pulled out his chest drawer and fumbled around for a bit, struggling against something, and drew forth the final Omega Key. Five Insecticons and a Vehicon stepped forward, and the Vehicon took the key from Swindle's hand, and they walked through the doors into the Nemesis, no doubt to put in Megatron's vault.

"Rise, Combaticons." Megatron ordered. "Now, what am I to do with you?"

"Lord Megatron, we had a deal." Onslaught said. "We brought you the relic in exchange for amnesty."

"I have altered the deal." Megatron said. "Pray I do not alter it further."

Brawl began to stand up, and every Vehicon readied their weapons, and the Insecticons began to flap their wings angrily. Blast Off pulled him back down.

"I am beginning to wonder if the return of a single relic, valuable though it may be, is truly worth forgiving _five _prodigal sons."

The Combaticons remained silent.

"What if I were to tell you that it wasn't enough?" Megatron wondered aloud. "What if I told you that only one Combaticon warrior would be taking an oath of loyalty today?"

Megatron grinned as the Combaticons exchanged nervous glances with each other.

"Feel free to discuss this amongst yourselves." Megatron said. "You have sixty seconds."

The Combaticons stood up, and looked at each other, then to Megatron, and finally to the troops surrounding them. They stepped closer to each other and muttered something amongst themselves, and Onslaught turned to Megatron.

"Lord Megatron, we have made a decision." Onslaught declared.

"Oh, really?" Megatron said. "Tell me, which Combaticon will remain on this ship?"

"It's simple:" Onslaught gestured to his four subordinates. "Combaticons, combine!"

Swindle immediately transformed into a jeep and did a spin before folding in half into something resembling a shin and thigh, And Brawl did the same thing next to him, somehow forming parts of the same size despite their initial disparity in mass and volume. Onslaught jumped, back flipped, transforming into a torso and landing on the two legs, crackling with energon at the points of contact and dropping onto his knees under the weight of the missile pack on his back.

Sticking his right side forward, power arced from the combiner's right shoulder to Blast Off, who boosted into the air and did a partial transformation into an X-15 which then attached at the shoulder and grew a massive hand. Finally, Vortex ran behind his team, leapt off the edge, transformed in mid-air, and looped back around, rolling ninety degrees until his undercarriage locked into the giant's left shoulder, and elongated himself into a giant left arm with rotors on the forearm. The Onslaught torso churned and sprouted a head that wasn't Onslaught's, and finally the giant stood up, rising to almost ninety feet tall, and knelt before Megatron, putting himself at about eye level.

"Bruticus online!" The combiner declared. "Ready to serve!"

If Megatron was afraid, he didn't show it even a bit, and nodded. "If you can understand me, congratulations." He looked at Bruticus' chest. "But do you remember the rite of the Brand?"

Bruticus' face scrunched up in concentration before he finally spoke slowly. "I pledge my undying loyalty to Megatron and the Decepticon cause. I shall devote my spark to achieving our goal of a Decepticon controlled Cybertron, by any means necessary. And annihilate all who have driven us from our rightful homeworld. Surrender is not an option."

"Welcome home, Bruticus." Megatron smiled. "The Decepticons, at long last, are whole once more."

Oh, so this was part of Sideways' new and improved plan?

_Uh… No. Was it part of yours?_

No.

Bruticus nodded, and dropped onto all fours. Five transformation sounds echoed around them, and in a moment, the Combaticons had separated.

"Now, onto more pressing matters." Megatron clapped his hands together. "We must move quickly to determine the nature of-"

Soundwave's face began to flash red and he began to emit a high pitched, rapid whine. Megatron turned to inspect him, and Soundwave immediately tackled him to the ground, just in time for a missile to whiz over his head and slam into the hull of the Nemesis. Everybody present readied their weapons, and Soundwave rose to his feet, his face now switching to a radar display, with a massive mass in the center to represent the warship, and five dots approaching them, about fifty miles away.

"An attack?!" Megatron shouted. "Who? Where?!"

Five F-16 Fighting Falcons streaked overhead, firing more missiles at the five Decepticons on the upper platform. Megatron dodged two rockets, caught one of them, blasted one of them mid-flight with a swing of his sword, and was about to throw the one in his hands at the tail of the jet that launched it, but Soundwave practically forced his hand into a Ground Bridge portal and a second later an explosion could be heard under the water.

Soundwave held out a hand and a Ground Bridge portal opened up to swallow the remaining missiles before they could hit the group, and dumped them out to chase the fighters, but the missiles doubled back to target the Decepticons again, and Soundwave barely had time to open up another portal and send them into the ocean.

Soundwave's face blinked and displayed the logo of the United States Air Force.

"Humans?" Megatron laughed, swinging his Dark Star Saber towards the Falcons that doubled back to retreat, and turned to the Decepticons. "Decepticons, battle-stations!"

The Nemesis alarm began blaring and the Vehicons on the flight deck quickly began to take defensive positions around the flight deck and readied their blasters. Soundwave showed satellite imagery of a fully equipped Carrier Group approaching from the same direction, about 150 miles out.

Dreadwing and Megatron jumped off of the platform first, and Dreadwing began running among the Vehicons, shouting orders and groups of them, directing some of them to cluster at different positons, pointing others back inside, and directing more still to transform, scramble, and prepare to engage the enemy forces. The Insecticons needed no such command structure, and they howled and shrieked before swarming off of the deck while the rest of the hive poured out of the bottom of the ship. Megatron stood dead center in the middle of the flight deck, and five Vehicons formed up around him as he began shouting commands and threats at the defending troopers.

Suddenly, the Insecticon cluster was filled with explosions, and about sixty of them were blasted out of the sky at once. Nobody even saw the missiles coming.

"What?!" Megatron shouted as more Insecticons began to howl and fall out of the sky after a sustained series of explosions. "Where are they?"

Soundwave's face displayed the carrier group again, zooming in on the battle cruisers, and swept over to the Nemesis. He then depicted the schematics of the Nemesis surrounded by a cloud of static, and arcade sprites of Insects just outside the cloud.

"Insecticons!" Megatron roared. "Return to the ship! Stay within range of the masking system. The enemy's radar can lock onto you from…"

Soundwave's face zoomed out and displayed a distance scale

"A _hundred miles?_" Megatron shouted at Soundwave. "Inconcieveable!"

_I don't think that word means what you think it means, boss._

More explosions, more dead Insecticons.

"Gah!" Megatron turned away. "Insecticons, return! Do as I command!"

Five sixths of the Insecticon swarm scrambled to return to the flight deck where there was room, and others still attempted to funnel back into the cargo hold, the remaining sixth had already been lost or could not make it in time and fell, screaming and smoldering into the sea, if they survived the missile barrage at all.

"Lord Megatron." Dreadwing said. "I will lead a squadron of our troopers to assault the enemy vessel."

"Take as many as you require, Dreadwing." Megatron ordered, and turned to Knock Out. "Knock Out, alert the troops inside the ship. Soundwave, see about disabling the enemy radar systems."

Soundwave paused for a moment, but released Laserbeak from his chest and it clamped onto Dreadwing.

Knock Out ran down the stairs, tapping Sideways on the back to follow, and Soundwave followed the two of them into the ship. Once they made their way into the bridge and the door closed behind them, Soundwave turned to Knock Out, who cleared his throat loudly, echoing throughout the hallways.

"Hello, is this thing on?" Knockout said, positioning himself closer to Soundwave until his face occupied the screen. "Right, yes. My fellow Decepticons, this is Sub-Commander Knock Out speaking. For those of you who haven't noticed, the Nemesis is under attack by the military of this world's preeminent super power." The screen switched to a display of the approaching carrier group, and then to the rows of jets and the battery of missile launchers. "We'll be expecting some heavy turbulence, so please: put your tray tables up and your seats back in the full upright position, and go to your battle stations and blow these upstart fleshies out of the water. Thank you for flying Con Air, and enjoy your battle."

The Ground Vehicons began running around the hallways to various positions, including into the Bridge to take up post at the computers. Soundwave stood at the terminal at the edge of the Bridge platform, surrounded by the panoramic display, and attached his tentacles to the computer. At once, the display showed a direct feed of Laserbeak's view.

Dreadwing had assembled sixty four flight Vehicons on the deck, and stood on the edge to get a closer look at the five or six specks coming over the horizon. He transformed, hovering in place for a second using the F-35's VTOL capabilities, in order for Laserbeak to clamp onto his undercarriage, and blasted off toward the ships with his escorts, approaching the speed of sound, slowing down for the benefit of the Vehicon flyers behind him.

When they were a quarter of the way from the Nemesis, Laserbeak's onboard radar system showed a wing of fighter jets had taken off from the Ford-class supercarrier and was coming to greet them. At the halfway point, Laserbeak noted that every Vehicon was being targeted, and for the next quarter of the way, the jets began launching their missiles at the approaching Vehicons, and by the time they were three quarters of the way there, thirty-two Vehicons were left, plus Dreadwing, who, from the front, found himself targeted by very few missiles.

"The enemy relies on long-range missiles!" Dreadwing declared. "Come in close and blast them out of the sky!"

The Vehicons engaged their afterburners, and in a minute, they were amongst the military pilots, filling the sky with superheated plasma.

Now THIS was the classic dogfight that the Decepticons wanted. Decepticon military strategy may have been dated, but having energon cannons and pilots that were immune to G-forces more than compensated for those disadvantages. Laserbeak detached himself from Dreadwing as he passed through the wall of jets, and made his way to the conning tower of the USS Defiant. Behind him, even outnumbered two to one, the Vehicons were doing an excellent job of hounding the F-16s at every turn with impossibly precise turns and maneuvers, whittling their numbers down by almost a third.

Dreadwing in particular was in his element now, partially transforming in mid-air to straddle jets and jam his sword into their cockpits, guiding them into adjacent allies, boosting off, firing his minigun at a third, and un-transforming back into jet-mode to blast at another cluster. At one point, he grabbed at a jet's tail, spun in mid, and chucked it, sending it spiraling into the flight deck of the Nemesis.

"Nice!" Knock Out cheered. "Soundwave, I hope you're recording, because Dreadwing needs to take a look at that when he gets back!"

"Indeed." Megatron said as he walked into the bridge. "Dreadwing is a true warrior. No amount of human 'technology' can make up for that.

"Uh, Lord Megatron…" Knock Out said. "You are aware that Dreadwing's choice of alternate mode _is_ a prototype human jet?"

"Yes, yes," Megatron waved his hand dismissively, "I still do not understand why all of you insisted upon choosing human _vehicles_ as your disguises."

"They are incredibly effective." Knock Out contended. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that these Earthlings only care about looking nice and killing things."

"You're so _vain_ Knock Out." Megatron chuckled. "Nothing these insects design can stand up to Cybertronian engineering."

"Tch, if you believe that, then why don't you go out and fly into their radar net?" Knock Out muttered. "Er… uh… My lord and master?"

"Still…" Megatron growled. "I _know _I have seen this particular craft before!"

Soundwave displayed a video clip of Starscream swan-diving off of a cliff and transforming into that very same jet before blasting off at supersonic speeds.

"Well, that would explain that." Megatron said. "No wonder Dreadwing is so… enthusiastic."

In the meantime, Laserbeak had buzzed around the conning tower a few times until it perched himself onto the biggest, most important looking antenna it could find. A few pulses of energy later, and the rocket batteries stopped firing.

"Excellent." Megatron smiled. "Dreadwing, the enemy radar tower is down, you are clear to engage their flagship!"

"With pleasure, Lord Megatron." Dreadwing said, and banked away from the sky battle. Laserbeak zoomed in and noted that the Military pilots had apparently leveraged their numbers advantage well and were outnumbering the Decepticons approximately sixty to sixteen.

The only casualties were the ones inflicted by Dreadwing.

The Vehicons turned away from the battle to escort Dreadwing, and the fighter jets broke away at once, and once they were clear, the carrier's cruiser escorts fired off another barrage of missiles, picking off each Vehicon in an instant and blasting off a chunk of Dreadwing's rear and forcing him into a transformation.

"What?" Megatron demanded. "That is impossible! Their radar was destroyed!"

"And what kind of moron," A familiar Midwestern accent mocked, "concentrates their entire communications apparatus into a single location sticking up out of their largest ship?"

"Who is this? Who dares to mock Megatron?"

Every screen on the Nemesis, including Soundwave's face, displayed an extreme, slightly garbled video stream of General Bryce. "You're speaking to General Bryce of the United States Air Force, Megs. Seriously, do they _have _military academies on your planet, or are your people new to warfare?"

"I fought in the gladiator pits of Kaon! I have led the Decepticons to countless military victories for the past sixty million years!"

"Sixty _million_?" Bryce dropped the cigar from his mouth, "Not to go 'Leland' on you, but humans have only been at this for sixty thousand, and this performance was just embarrassing."

"I'll show you-"

"No, Megatron." Bryce said coldly as he leaned in closer to the camera. "I'll show _you_."

The feed cut back to a view of the deck of the Defiant. Dreadwing, missing his left arm and half of his face, was slashing about with his sword at about a hundred humans swarming around his feet and rocket-boosting through the air, pelting him with automatic weapons fire as they passed. Several yards behind him was a pile of shrapnel that used to be his arm, and his minigun.

"You're seeing this, right?" Bryce's voice said. "I don't know how you encode video or anything, but you understand my words, I figure."

As he spoke, Dreadwing's right leg was speared by what looked like a shoulder mounted harpoon launcher. The soldier that fired it immediately broke into a sprint, running around Dreadwing's legs. Dreadwing kicked forward in an attempt to send him flying, but the soldier let go immediately and Dreadwing's leg passed over it. Once his foot was down, the masked trooper re-grabbed the launcher, and the soldier switched direction and ran between Dreadwing's legs and moving in a figure eight around them, completely entangling the Decepticcon.

Soundwave split the screen in half and detached Laserbeak from his perch to get a closer look.

"You think me some animal to fall for such a simple trick?" Dreadwing sneered, spitting bits of energon onto the floor, stopping his struggles, and shuffling his feet together to slack his bonds. "I hope you won't be offended when I say that the other humans were better at this."

General Bryce made a vague grunting noise.

Dreadwing slowly crouched down to disentangle himself from the cable, only to be shot in the face with a rocket launcher. The impact made him trip and fall onto his side, and he began grunting to push himself up with just one arm.

"You think I'll die here?" Dreadwing shouted as he dragged himself on his stomach towards the edge of the ship. His voice became deeper and more distorted with each word"I am Dreadwing! First Lieutenant to Lord Megatron! Twin to Skyquake! Captain of the Seekers! The Right Blade of Vos!"

He was halfway to the edge now, and the wings in his back were flexing themselves, in some attempt to force a transformation. The masked soldier who had tied him ran back to the discarded minigun and waved some soldiers over to help him adjust it. In a coordinated effort, they rolled the thing over until it was pointed straight at Dreadwing.

"He's trying to find a new alternate form…" Megatron smiled. "Clever."

Dreadwing was at the edge now, and he looked at the ocean below. Grunting, he flipped himself over and looked to the skies at the returning fighter jets. With a grin, his remaining eye began to glow green and fire a pale beam.

Just as a new fighter jet was about to cross the beam, the soldier who had already done so much charged at the Minigun, slamming his shoulder into the trigger, and sending a single, massive bolt of energon straight for Dreadwing. As the Seeker's armor began to reconfigure itself to match his newly acquired, if less massive form, the cannon shot went straight through his chest, blasting a gaping hole through it that dripped with molten metal.

Dreadwing put his hands over the hole and slipped two fingers in, and then his whole fist, and then pulled it out and stared in shock before slumping over, the edge.

"You'll never find the body." Dreadwing whispered, and pulled himself over the edge, plunging himself into the ocean.

"Remind me to give that kid a medal." Bryce said, switching the feed to his face. "So I hope you tin cans understand the situation you're in."

"There will be no place you can run." Megatron said, as Laserbeak zoomed in on the soldier that killed Dreadwing. "Your people will die screaming."

The soldier was being lifted by his cheering teammates like he had just scored the winning goal at as soccer game. He lifted his hands to his helmet and pulled it off, shaking his matted black hair out of his face.

The face of Jack Darby.

What.

_Oh, MAN. I did NOT see that coming!_

"Somehow I doubt that." Bryce said. "In fact…" Bryce looked over his shoulder. "Yep, I expect your surrender right about now."

"My _surrender_?" Megatron laughed. "You kill one lieutenant and expect me to _SURRENDER?_ Please, General Blight."

"Bryce."

"Whatever. You are no Optimus Prime."

"No. I'm not." Bryce said. "I'm a winner. And on our world, winners do not compromise with the losers, we dictate terms. So here are my terms, Megatron. Get off of our planet, and never return."

"Oh really?" Megatron clapped his hands together. "Or else what?"

The Nemesis shook, the lights dimmed.

"Lord Megatron!" One of the Vehicons shouted. "Our cloaking system is down!"

"What?!" Megatron shouted, and turned back to Bryce, who was laughing so hard he was beginning to cough from the haze of smoke around him.

"How on _Earth_ do you people _function_?" Bryce laughed. "Right. So your choices are to leave in the next five minutes, or we'll blast your ship out of the sky and dump what remains into the Marianas Trench."

"The Nemesis is Cybertronian engineering!" Megatron shouted. You won't be able to scratch it!"

"Trust me, we can." Bryce said. "And in case you didn't believe me…"

Soundwave's face glowed red again, and the proximity sensors showed the fighter jets doubling back around towards them.

"Decepticons!" Megatron roared. "Battle statio-"

Explosions rocked the Nemesis, throwing the standing Decepticons to either side.

"Sir, those were our defensive batteries!" A Vehicon shouted. "We can't take another hit like that!"

"You've lost, Megatron. But I'm not a psychopath like Leland." Bryce said. "If your ship moves anywhere but straight up, you will be annihilated, and your corpses thrown into the Marianas Trench. Do you surrender, yes or no?"

"I. Am.-"

Another explosion, knocking Megatron onto his rear.

"About to die!" Bryce demanded. "Do you surrender?"

Megatron stumbled to his feet, and looked to Soundwave, whose face showed that Laserbeak had retreated from the fleet, over the water stained blue with energon, into the cargo bay where wailing, screeching Insecticons were stumbling back into their stasis pods, and through the hallways where Vehicons were tending to each other's wounds, doing spot welds and basic system recalibrations.

"Prepare the Ground Bridge," Megatron ordered, "and tell the Combaticons to prepare for-"

_Oh, no. dying here DEFINITELY wasn't part of the plan._

"Lord Megatron!" Sideways interrupted. "We just lost Dreadwing, the Nemesis is defenseless, and the troops aren't going anywhere. We _just_ got Bruticus back, and we have a guaranteed way home. Don't be _stupid!_"

Knock Out stepped back just in time for Megatron to punch Sideways across the room.

"Very well, human." Megatron turned to Bryce. "We will retreat, for now."

"Don't let the gravitational field hit you on the way out, Mecharon."

"Megatron."

"Whatever." Bryce said, and cut the feed.

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Betrayal!

-Redemption!

-Armageddon!

* * *

AN: Did you ever have an amazing idea, get about halfway through fleshing it out, and then realize, ah, crap, that's actually really inconvenient?

Yeah.

Anyway, Chapter 19 comes in two weeks. By my estimate, that would be the penultimate chapter. This would be the perfect time to make predictions about the endgame, so I can see if my foreshadowing is as good in my writing as it is in my head.


	19. Return to Form

_"__The world? The world will approve! We can make you now. Don't you get it? We don't need you anymore."_

\- Joshua Joyce, Tyran Cluster

* * *

Raf's eyes shot open and he immediately cradled his jaw.

Wait, no. He hadn't been the one to be punched by Megatron. He sat up straight and looked around. He was in a hospital bed again. This sure brought back memories, right?

No response.

Unicron? Was he there?

Still no response.

No way. He began to laugh to himself. A dream. It was all just one obscenely long nightmare.

No terrorists.

No ancient superweapons.

No interdimensional zombie jet robots.

And no evil spirits in his mind.

_I'm not evil. I am Chaotic. There is a difference._

One, scrap. Two, Raf was pretty sure Unicron was evil by any conceivable definition.

_What does that make you, then?_

The victim of demonic possession?

_No. I have not forced you into anything these past months. Every action you performed was under your own will._

One day, Raf swore, he would fully explain why that was wrong.

_Who do you swear to? I am the only god you have ever met._

Raf flicked at his temple in some halfhearted attempt to shut Unicron up. Where was he, though?

At that moment, a MECH trooper walked through the door, holding a set of clothes.

"Good. You're up." Seven said, and tossed him the bundle. "Get dressed."

Raf looked down at his hospital scrubs he was wearing. "What happened to the clothes I was wearing?"

"Laundry," Seven said. "And besides, I think you'll like these better. I had them custom made for you."

He raised an eyebrow, and unfolded the clothes. As soon as he saw it, his heart plummeted. Silas may have said he wasn't a fascist, but… this was ridiculous. The white shirt was exactly the same as he normally wore. The darker green ACUs were admittedly more comfortable than jeans, so he kept those on as well. He paused before he tried on the boots that he was pretty sure were a half size too big, but the material was strong, definitely better than his old sneakers. But, wait, what was this, an armband with their insignia? And… no. The Kevlar vest was where he drew the line. He wasn't a child soldier.

_Of course not. You are a child officer._

"Come on, kid." Seven said when he saw Raf hold it up in front of him, "You need protection."

"Protection from _what_?"

"Well it's a bulletproof vest, so I'm going to answer with 'bullets'."

"Why would I get shot at? I'm twelve!"

_And a half._

"Hi." Seven said, sticking his hand out as if for a handshake. "Welcome to MECH, Raf. Take a number, and Silas wi-"

"And Silas will be with me shortly for the presentation, yes, the Scientist said the same thing." Raf sighed. "_You _don't wear any armor!"

"Actually, the jacket is," he said, pointing to himself, "I just didn't know how to turn Kevlar into a sweater-vest, because it's not 1982."

"Don't tell Silas that." Raf said, a smile tugging at his lips.

Seven paused for a moment. "Are you going to put the vest on or not?"

He groaned and put it on.

"Great!" Seven said, patting him on the shoulder as they walked out of the infirmary building, towards the main building. "You're finally one of us now."

Raf dared Unicron to say something clever, and for perhaps the first time ever, he did not.

The main control building, previously given a surprise remodeling by a rampaging Insecticon, had been ostensibly completely renovated over the past few days. A circular building constructed out of concrete, with a diameter of about a hundred yards from end to end, it had still managed to maintain it brutalist architecture that allowed it to blend in with the rest of the buildings in the complex while looking properly foreboding when you stood right in front of it. There were no windows to be seen in the exterior of the structure, with the exception of a ring of narrow slits close to the top, likely more for ventilation than to allow natural light in.

The real magic, Seven said, was inside. He waved his wrist over a scanner of some kind and opened a door into… an airlock? No, Airlocks didn't have machinegun turrets at each corner that swept their muzzles over you for a bit before opening the second door automatically, swinging out a steel vault door about six inches thick.

Once they were through, the door closed behind them, whirring and clicking as it locked into place. All around the central chamber, standing in what looked like gigantic display stands against the walls, were giant robots, each just a little bit shorter than Scourge. They had clearly borrowed elements of the M-Cons' designs, along with a return to the steampunk aesthetic that was undoubtedly insisted upon by Silas. Each one had the same orange face with dim green eyes modeled, in a testament to his vanity, after Silas' face, fixed in a condescending and somewhat creepy grin. The purple helmets resembled those a pilot might wear, with an array of antennae up the middle resembling a mohawk. If the M-Cons were modeled after troopers, and the Sweeps after Scourge, then these new ones were a very clear monument to a level of vanity that Raf didn't even realize Silas had. The weapon payloads, on the other hand, were surprisingly tame by MECH standards from what Raf could tell. Each one had a large missile mounted to their forearms, along with twin machineguns at the wrist. A quick peek behind them showed the massive rotors on their back along with the smaller ones on each of their left forearms that betrayed their alternate modes as helicopters of some kind. Raf counted twenty robots in total, out of twenty one available docks. The empty one simply had the words "01-Icarus" painted on the back wall

At the opposite side of the room from the entrance, modified but still recognizable, was the control array, expanded to take up nearly a quarter of the wall space. One central screen dominated the space, larger than the rest combined, surrounded by twenty two more screens: six on either side, eight on the top edge, and one on each top corner. The main chair was gone now, and the former hand of Skyquake had been converted into the main chair, structured such that the four main fingers served as a backrest, the user sat on the palm, and the thumb could be lifted and lowered on the joint as one would a high school desk. It had been put in a track, too, allowing the person in it to move from one end of the screens to the other. And despite the work that must have undoubtedly gone into modifying the internal workings of the hand, Raf could _still_ feel the comforting warmth of Dark Energon emanating from it, pulsing down through the floor and permeating the ground in the building.

Raf felt himself walk to the seat and turn to look at Seven, who nodded in approval, and he sat down, lowering the thumb in front of him. Once it clicked into place, the screens flashed on, displaying MEGH's blue "M" insignia on a black background, and a loading screen of a 16-bit pixelated lifeform moving from the left side of the screen to the right, starting as a tadpole one end, metamorphosing into a fish, then some kind of salamander, then a rat of some kind, which grew into a monkey which then stood up straight into an ape, followed by an early hominid, a caveman, and then, at the halfway point, a Caucasian human male who bore a resemblance to… Silas. Come on. Virtual Silas started as a caveman, his clothes rapidly shifting as he walked proudly and strongly to the right, from a hunter-gatherer with a spear to Roman Legionary, a European Knight (With MECH's Insignia on his shield), a Conquistador, an American Musketman, a World War II Infantryman, a 1970s Marine, and, at the 75% mark, a MECH trooper, who then climbed into a stylized version of the Cylas truck, transformed up, saluted the viewer, and thrusted upwards, off of the screen, followed by a line of M-Cons and Sweeps, led by Scourge, that flew up from the bottom of the screen, transitioning the background from black to orange, displaying the word "CYCLONUS."

"So what did you think?" Silas' voice asked from _closely_ behind Raf. "Too corny?"

"Jesus!" Raf said, rotating the chair 180 degrees and finding himself face to face with the Cylas, crouched down on one knee, just like Optimus did sometimes. "Silas, don't… Wait. Did you _sneak up _on me in a _giant robot_?"

"Indeed I did." Silas said, standing up straight. "I can feel myself becoming more at one with my body than ever before. It is no longer a prosthetic, but a real part of me." He clenched a fist dramatically before looking back down. "So, the console, do you like it?"

"Uh…" How could Raf put this... "That was so 90s it hurt."

"I'm old, sue me." Silas said. "But you'll just have to get used to it, because _this_," he gestured to the computer. "Is your new workstation."

Raf turned around to see a close up view of the back of his head on the main screen, looking at the main screen, showing the back of his head and so on and so forth. Behind him, Silas gestured to the surrounding displays. Each one gave him a view of the room from twenty different angles, one screen showed only static, and the last one, easily visible on the bottom right, displayed Scourge's perspective sat in the Scientist's laboratory. Skyquake's former thumb popped open to reveal the controls. He spent a few seconds re-arranging the feed positions before returning to the default.

"Of course, you won't be able to control me." Silas said. "But there was no good reason to remove the ability to seize control of Scourge when we already had the capabilities.

"You still don't trust Scourge?" Raf asked after ensuring he didn't leave his finger on the microphone button or anything stupid like that.

"I don't trust anybody."

Raf didn't even know where to begin with that, and just pointed to the other surrounding screens, through which he was watching Silas from every direction. "And these?"

"Those feeds are for my Armada." Silas declared, pointing at the robots surrounding them.

"Who's piloting them?"

Silas grinned, and furrowed his brow in concentration. A second later, the twenty mechs stepped forward and saluted him.

"The only person I do trust." Silas gestured to himself with his thumb. "Me."

"How?" Raf looked at the stiff robots. "With what?"

"Why, with the greatest weapon in my arsenal, of course."

_Myself?_

"Project Damocles?"

"Project Damo-? No!" Silas snapped, tapping at his forehead. "My brain!"

"You mean to tell me…" Raf said, swiveling around to ensure that Silas could see his skepticism. "That you plan to control twenty robots, simultaneously, with your mind."

"Well, not _all _on my own." Silas admitted. "The CYCLONUS OS patched into my nervous system will handle the movements themselves. But they are mine to command by my will alone. As it turns out, our Insecticon research was lacking the other half of the puzzle."

"The other half of the puzzle?"

"Scourge." Silas said, placing a finger to his ear. "Could you look up above the surgical berth, please?"

Raf switched the view to the main screen to see what Scourge was looking at, and his heart sank.

Suspended by her feet from the ceiling, bent at the knees and waist, hands welded together behind her legs, looking down at him with a face contorted in her final, horrified gasp, was Airachnid. The back of her head had clearly been torn open, with tubes, wires, cables, and pistons snaking out of it and into the ceiling. Her spider legs hung down from her back, the ends having been replaced with lasers, drills, saws, and other assorted tools. MECH had… this was…

_Careful, boy, don't-_

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Raf demanded, looking up at Silas. "How could you do that? _Why_ would you do that?"

"Excuse me?" Silas said. "The data we stripped from Airachnid's husk was invaluable for our research into mental control over the-"

"I don't care about that!" Raf said, his eyes widening when he realized that it was true, he really didn't care about that part. "But… That's just gratuitous desecration!"

"I'm…" Silas was speechless for the first time. "We've been wearing these robots as suits for months." He pointed at his chest. "I'm _inside_ Breakdown. Scourge is a _zombie_. You…" Silas pointed at the seat. "You are literally using one of their hands as a chair!"

"But I'm not mounting them onto the wall like some kind of… barbarian!"

"Are you offended at his _aesthetic_ preference?" Silas asked, his voice taking on a mocking tone. "Because this one looks _too much_ like a person?"

"It's not…" Raf stammered. Silas didn't understand… "I mean… It's different!"

"Different how?"

"It just is!"

_Very compelling._

"I had expected you to be more logical than that, Rafael." Silas and his twenty guards frowned deeply. "But I suppose that you're still a child."

"What, being sadistic is just a natural part of the aging process?"

"Truthfully?" Silas raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

Raf was about to respond when the base received a transmission. He turned around to see a cropped picture of Sideways, who appeared to have been in a photo with Smokescreen originally, both flashing peace signs to the camera. Cute.

"Ah, a message from Sideways." Silas leaned in to take a closer look. "What does it say?"

"What's up, best buddy?" Raf read aloud. "It's the Sides-meister here. Got some serious intel you'll want to hear. Gonna rendezvous with the Autobots at these coordinates. Don't be late. Send someone they won't blast on sight."

"Hmm…" Silas scratched his chin as he viewed the coordinates. "Well that presents a bit of a problem, considering that applies to literally all of us except for you."

"So you're not going to meet him?"

"Do you want to go the Himalayas?"

"No."

"Then no."

"So then how will you find out what he says?"

"You have to promise you won't complain."

"I… Fine. I promise."

* * *

Raf was never promising Silas anything ever again.

As it turns out, Silas hadn't "found a way" so much as he was using an old plan. The Scientist, it turned out, had implanted a listening device in Miko's cell phone when she came to MECH's base for medical care.

OK, fine. He wouldn't complain, but why had the Scientist done that in the first place?

Why not. OK. The Scientist was talking before about not being supervillains. This was pretty… Fine. Fine, Raf supposed it was more like a spy movie evil conspiracy. The difference was negligible and-

Yes. No. Yes, they were quite comfortable. Well his mom picked out the sweater-vest and… Stop laughing. Thank you, Silas, he thought so too.

Yes, Raf had seen his new lab equipment.

No he didn't want to hear about how hard it was to get her to bend that way. Please stop.

No. No, go back to telling him about the tracking device.

Mhmm. Mhmm. OK, fine, he told Sideways. Now what?

Raf took a seat at the Scientist's desk on one of the scaffoldings in his lab halfway between Silas' height and Scourge's, listening to the transmission.

The feed started with the sound of a Ground Bridge activating, cars transforming, and weapons charging.

"Drop your weapons!" Bulkhead ordered.

"Hands where we can see 'em!" Smokescreen shouted.

"Easy, easy, fellas!" Sideways said from a distance, and approached them. "You act like I'm gonna stab you in the back! I'm just here to bring you this little doohickey!"

"The Forge of Solus Prime…" Arcee muttered.

"That's not a forge, it's a hammer." Miko said.

"Sideways. What is the meaning of this treachery?" Optimus Prime asked.

"One, that confused me too." Sideways said. He grunted and it sounded like he dropped it to the ground. "Two, this 'treachery' is gonna save the world and everyone on it, OP."

"Oh really?" another voice said. "Because Miko and I? We're _from_ the Earth. And giving Omega Keys to Megatron doesn't seem like 'helping us'. Unless you brought the other two he took?"

"Nah, Megs still has those, Jack." Sideways said. Raf noticed the Scientist and Silas exchange a glance out of the corner of his eye. "I would've brought those back too, if I could. Actually, he has all four now. The Combaticons returned to the fold."

"Combaticons?" Miko asked. "What's a Combaticon?"

"Who are you working for, Sideways?" Optimus demanded. "Whose side are you really on?"

"I told you already, Optimus," Sideways said. "I'm here for Earth, and that means ending the war once and for all. The Keys'll get the Decepticons off-world. And the Forge'll do the same for you, and neither side is coming back."

"Sideways, while I will not attack your motivations," Optimus said, "There were a multitude of ways you could have acted upon these concerns, and betraying us in an ill-conceived attempt to infiltrate the Decepticon ranks was not one of them. Smokescreen told me what you said. Understand that I have been prosecuting this war for eons, and-"

"And it's still happening, Optimus." Sideways said, dropping his tone of informality. "You've got to be one of the most incompetent examples of a Prime I have ever met. You are indecisive, inconsistent, and for lack of a better word, soft. That this war would spread to another world after Cybertron went dark is regrettable yet predictable. That you would be at the mercy of the locals of this world, in their own base with not even ten warriors available against the full might of the _Nemesis _is unforgiveable. The humans nearly scuttled the thing in an hour, isn't that right, Jack?"

The broadcast was silent for a moment.

"Jack?" Arcee asked.

"Yeah, Arcee?"

"What is he talking about?"

Jack didn't respond for a moment.

"Sideways." Jack said.

"Yeah, Jack?"

"How many Primes have you met?"

Silence again, and a loud buzzing noise, like the sound of a horde of insects.

"Whoah, Jack, you turned him into dust!" Miko shouted.

"No." Optimus said. "He did not. I have growing suspicions that Sideways is not all that he appears. Ratchet, open the Ground Bridge."

The Bridge audibly opened, and then the transmission cut.

"Really, Silas? That was your plan?" The Scientist was the first to speak. "You gave the NBE's our last relic, just so… so they would pull out? And… what, did you think they'd just go home and never come back?"

"Do you think that was the plan?" Silas asked. "You have known me for twenty years. Do you truly think I would concoct a plan that ridiculous?"

"No. No you wouldn't." The Scientist shook his head. "But then why would having our relic make them leave? What was this great plan you supposedly concocted with this NBE? No, no, better question. Who is this NBE? What's his angle?"

Silas was barely listening, and Raf could hear the faint sound of him replaying the transmission before snapping his fingers. "Ah. I see. Ingenious."

"Silas you need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Being vague."

"Oh, you're missing a piece of the puzzle. You see, the relic that Sideways took is called an 'Omega Key', and when all four are gathered, they are used in some process unknown to me to restore their world until it is habitable to them."

"How is that the last piece of the puzzle?" The Scientist demanded.

Silas replayed the audio, again for everybody to hear.

"Silas." The Scientist pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you fail…"

_He will not fail…_

"What?" Raf asked. "I don't understand? What's the plan?"

"But the payoff was too enormous to ignore." Silas replied. "So I took a risk."

"You've been doing that a lot lately." The Scientist said.

"Being vague?"

"Taking risks."

"Maybe I'm going senile with age." Silas shrugged. "Rafael, return to your station. Scourge, stay here."

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand this plan either." Scourge said. "I am completely lost in this conversation. You are both being vague."

"OK, neither of you know this, but, Raf, do you remember when we uploaded a computer virus to the Decepticon Warship?" The Scientist asked.

"Yeah?"

"And I uploaded a second, decoy virus?"

"Yeah…"

"Well that second virus was meant to give me access to the ship's navigation module."

"So you could have found the ship whenever you wanted? Why didn't you use that before?"

"Well, no. you see, if I did, I'd only be able to actually use it once, before the Decepticon IT expert, who I'm given to understand is quite skilled, rooted us out and possibly traced it back to our base."

"So… you're gonna activate it and hijack their ship?"

"Now you're getting it." The Scientist said. "And we're doing it now because…?"

"Because the Decepticons… won't be on their ship! Half of them'll be on Cybertron! They'll be using a space bridge!"

"Exactly." Silas said.

"But… OK." Raf understood, well enough anyway. There were gaps, but…

"Then return to the control chamber and await my signal."

Raf looked at the three of them, nodded, and took the stairs out of the complex, noticing Seven driving in the other direction. Once he was in, he took a seat and activated the console, pulling up Scourge's view to the large screen. He saw that Silas was lying on the steel berth, looking straight up as the tools that used to be Airachnid went rooting through his robot's innards under the Scientist's control.

"Rafael, are you there?" Silas turned his head and said to Scourge.

Raf hit a button on Skyquake's thumb. "I'm here, Silas. What are you doing?"

"Making some last minute modifications to my chassis. They may take longer than I thought, but I may as well do it right. Up to an hour."

"I'll just… sit tight here then."

"Can you believe it, Rafael?" Silas laughed. "And to think this all started with a handheld laser!"

_It started long before that, my child._

Raf elected to ignore that statement and noticed the familiar sensation of Sideways tugging at his mind. Looking around to ensure that nobody was watching him, he surrendered to the call.

* * *

_You know. I may be functionally invulnerable, but this Megatron has a mean right hook._

Well yes, that's what tended to happen when you mouthed off to galactic robot warlords during surrender negotiations.

_Yeah, yeah. Still. At least he doesn't turn into a giant fist._

Was that a thing?

_Viron Cluster. That Megatron turned into anything you could imagine. Car, boat, jet, fist, elephant, uh… Some kind of gargoyle-bat thing. A two headed dragon, a griffin… something else, I think._

Wow.

_I know._

Sideways cradled his jaw as he walked out of the halls of the Nemesis after returning from his meeting with Optimus.

It had apparently been an awkward time to be on the ship after General Bryce ended his call. Megatron hadn't said a word to Sideways as he stood up from being punched in the face. He hadn't said a word to anyone, actually. He had just stood in the center of the bridge, not making eye contact with anyone at all, as Soundwave engaged the Nemesis' vertical thrusters and managed flight maneuvers to move the ship into high orbit. Knock Out opened his mouth to say something at one point, but Megatron turned his head to regard him with an emotionless stare, and Knock Out chose to stay silent, along with the rest of the bridge technicians. So Sideways had quickly taken his leave, gone straight to the vault, and taken the Forge without issue.

_OK. Phase three of Sideways' Master Plan begins now._

Did it have a name?

_That was a name._

Silas would have had a better name than that. Something Greek, probably.

_Well, I don't know Greek._

Then how about Sideways told him the goal, and Raf would think of one.

_Hmm… No._

Sideways just wasn't going to tell him anything?

_I'll tell you that I'm looking for the Space Bridge controls._

Had he considered, oh, he didn't know, the ship's command bridge?

_That's… hostile territory. I've dealt with enough probing questions today._

Was he upset because Jack nearly blew his cover?

_No._

Then why did he tell the Autobots about what Jack had done?

_If he wasn't doing anything wrong, he shouldn't be upset. It's not every day a human teenager attacks a titan. General Bryce shouldn't get to keep all of the secrets. Besides, I-_

Sideways stopped short when he saw Vortex coming down the hall in the opposite direction. Vortex cocked his head in confusion when they made visor-contact.

"Here I thought my scanners were wonky," Vortex said, crossing his arms, "but no, there's an enemy infiltrator walking freely on the ship."

"Here I thought you had to be _smart_ to be a pilot." Sideways laughed, pointing at his chest. "I'm a Decepticon. I've got the chestplate, my visor is red, and-"

"You're not a Decepticon." Vortex said. It wasn't a question.

"Look, would an Autobot-"

"Oh, you may not be an Autobot," Vortex said, stepping forward slowly, "but you're definitely not a Decepticon."

Vortex's words hung in the air for a few seconds. Sideways didn't say anything, but slowly drew his hands together, reaching for the swords that came out of his wrists.

"Careful, friend." A voice growled behind him. "We don't want to get energon all over your shiny purple finish."

Sideways turned around to see Brawl looming over the two of them, standing so as to block the hallway back the way he came.

_Was he following me this whole time? How in the world..._

"Molecular masking field." Brawl smiled. "You wouldn't believe the deal I got."

"Listen," Sideways said, "If you've got something to say, just say it. I don't have all day."

"We're pretty short on time ourselves, so the way I see it, this can go three ways." Vortex held up a finger. "One, you can tell us who you are and what you're doing here." Vortex held up another finger. "Two, you can try to run away from me, and I'll just share my concerns with Megatron, at which point you will be hunted down, restrained, and turned over to me for interrogation." Vortex held up a third finger. "Finally, you could attempt to fight me, at which point, Brawl will break your legs and arms before tearing out your T-Cog, at which point you will be turned over to me for interrogation."

"Eh, sorry. None of those choices really work for me," Sideways said, "and trust me, even if the jolly green giant over here tries to scrap me, you're gonna be pretty disappointed with what happens afterwards. So how about a fourth option: you keep walking, and we pretend this conversation didn't happen, or I'll tell Megatron that losing Dreadwing was your fault."

Vortex's visor brightened for a moment, and Brawl rested a hand on Sideways' shoulder, but he waved for him to stop. "What are you talking about?"

_I'm with Vortex here. What?_

"I saw you, Vortex." Sideways pointed his finger straight at the Combaticon's face. "On the flight deck, when you all combined with each other to make Bruticus, you flew off of the edge before doubling back to join at the shoulder."

"And?" Vortex scoffed. "I needed maneuvering space."

"You needed so much maneuvering space that you managed to fly outside the range of the ship's jamming field?" Sideways laughed. "And we just so conveniently happened to be attacked by the human fleet within, what, a few minutes?"

Vortex growled and Sideways felt Brawl's hands grasp at his antlers and lift him up to his eye level. "You know what I think, spy?" Vortex whispered.

_Scrap, this hurts._

"I don't know, traitor." Sideways grabbed at Brawl's wrists to pull himself up before his neck broke. "You tell me."

"I think you should keep your little conspiracy theories to yourself before you get yourself into trouble."

"Whatever, Scully." Sideways grunted, not losing his smile. "I'm glad we could bond like this, but I really should get going."

Vortex cocked his head to the side, and Brawl grunted and slammed Sideways' face into a wall, filling his vision with static, and dropped him to the floor. Sideways started to push himself up, and Brawl kicked him in the sides, flipping him onto his back.

Vortex looked down at him and swapped one of his hands into some sort of stun gun, and the other into a small rotor. "You know, we never did pay you back for Egypt. Brawl and I are kind of petty, see, and we didn't appreciate getting suckered by a pair of bicycles."

"Nope." Brawl said, planting a foot on Sideways' stomach so that he couldn't get up. "We didn't appreciate that one bit."

_I bet this would be really frightening if I were mortal. Now it's just kind of funny._

"Actually guys, I'm a reverse trike." Sideways said instead. "Basically, imagine a-"

A slam echoed through the halls, and Vortex looked up, behind Brawl, and quickly stowed away his weapons and hopped back. Brawl took his foot off and stepped over Sideways to be next to his comrade, and Sideways turned his head to see Soundwave standing at the end of the hall.

Soundwave walked towards them, his pace so calm that if he weren't fixing his gaze on the scene, you'd think he hadn't even noticed. Once he reached Brawl's position, he grabbed Sideways by the handles, lifted him up, and placed him in a standing position.

_Ow Ow Oww. Why does everybody go for the antlers?_

Hey, they were made to be gripped.

Sideways grunted and ran his hands along them, feeling for dents of bends before looking up at Soundwave, who regarded the three of them silently. Despite being Brawl's height, in that moment, he seemed like a mother looking down at errant children, waiting for an explanation. Brawl tried first.

"Hey Soundwave. We were just talking to Sideways when we, uh… encountered some turbulence." He shrugged. "I was helping him up."

Soundwave shook his head, waved Brawl away, and turned to Vortex.

"OK, the truth is that Brawl and I were a little bit sore over what happened in Egypt when Sideways was undercover, so we tried to set him straight."

Soundwave looked at Sideways last.

"Yeah…" Sideways said. "That's what happened."

Soundwave looked down on both of them, and his face played a recording of Megatron. "I recognize, Soundwave, that the return of certain… rogue elements to our ranks may be difficult for some to accept, given our nature. But cooperation is essential. We Decepticons will be best equipped to rule a restored Cybertron only if we are united."

The recording cut, and Soundwave's face went blank, reflecting their two faces.

"Understood." Vortex said. "Apologies, Sideways. No hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings." Sideways nodded, checking out his antlers in Soundwave's visor.

"Good," he said, and turned to Soundwave, "tell Lord Megatron that I'm going to help Knock Out work out the exact nature of the Omega Keys." Vortex said, and walked down the hall.

Soundwave looked after him for a moment, and pointed after him to Sideways, replaying his last words: "Help Knock Out work out the exact nature of the Omega Keys."

"Wait," Sideways said, "But I need to-"

"No hard feelings." Soundwave played back, and walked away.

_Sideways' Master Plan… has encountered a delay._

Sounds rough.

Sideways turned around and returned in the direction he came from, following the sound of Vortex's steps until he entered Knock Out's lab.

_Yeah, well, let's just hope that Scourge and Cyclonus do their part._

Right, he should probably check on that.

* * *

Raf blinked and looked up at the control panel and recoiled in horror. Scourge was laying on the berth, face up, giving Raf a nice, high definition view of Airachnid's corpse being used by the Scientist to lower god-knows-what into his innards.

_Actually, I have no idea._

Raf closed his eyes and hit the mic button. "Silas. Silas, are you there?"

"Yes, Rafael, what is it?" Silas asked from off to the side.

"Sideways might be a bit delayed on his end."

The Scientist looked off screen, then back at Scourge's eyes. "Did you receive a communication? I didn't pick anything up."

"Uh… Yeah." Raf said.

"Not a problem, then." Silas said. "We're running into some delays on our end as well. Tell him to keep us posted."

Raf nodded, minimized the screen and closed his eyes.

* * *

"You know, I see you tapping your feet impatiently," Knock Out said as he passed a scanner over the Omega Keys, "But I haven't seen you actually lift a finger to help me out, Sideways."

"I'm not a scientist, doc." Sideways said, holding up a key balancing it on his finger as he spoke. "I'm a spy. I brought the keys. I told you what they did. I don't see why I'm expected to figure out how they work."

"Because," Vortex said, zooming in to the grooves of the keys with a series of lenses that unfolded in front of his eyes, "given what we witnessed earlier, I'd say Lord Megatron is in desperate need of some good news, and that means leveraging every advantage we have. Are you sure Optimus Prime never mentioned _anything_ about how these things work?"

Did Sideways really have no idea where the Omega Lock was?

_Literally no idea. I was hoping one of these guys would know._

Did they even know what they were looking for?

_I… You'd think it would be implied…_

Decepticons weren't the brightest bunch…

"Well…" Sideways said slowly, "All he said was that all four keys needed to be brought together to restore the planet. Just a hunch, but is there maybe an Omega Lock or something?"

"Oh, gee, why didn't I think of that?" Knock Out scoffed as he picked up two keys. "An Omega… Lock…" He scratched his chin. "Huh. Vortex, does that sound familiar to you?"

Vortex shook his head.

_On second thought, looks like My Master Plan was doomed without this delay either way._

"How about this," Sideways said, "If we assumed that the Omega Keys are useless on their own, and needed to be used on some other thing that none of us have heard of, where would that thing be?"

"These things are ancient." Vortex projected the glyphs on the keys onto the wall. "This is Old Cybertronian writing. I couldn't even begin to tell you what they meant."

"And?" Knock Out asked, crossing his arms and staring at the indecipherable gibberish. "They're ancient relics, we knew that already."

"Well there's only one place on Cybertron with markings like this." Vortex said, projecting a hologram of Cybertron onto his palm, highlighting a grey area covering about a sixth of its surface. "The Sea of Rust."

"Well." Sideways said. "That narrows it down."

"It's better than nothing." Knock Out said, pressing a finger onto the intercom. "Lord Megatron, could you come to my lab? We've made progress."

Megatron walked through the door in a few minutes, glaring at Sideways before the three of them explained what they had deduced.

"Of course!" Megatron said. "Keys are useless without something to unlock!"

_Oh, lord._

"Now comes the issue of narrowing down the exact location." Vortex said. "It'll take us deca-cycles to scour it, and we're not a hundred percent sure as to what we're looking for. It could just lead us to another hint."

"Vortex, Vortex," Megatron chided, grabbing two of the keys and lightly tapping them against each other, "This lead puts us light years ahead of the Autobots. Give yourself some credit."

"Actually, Lord Megatron," Knock Out said, "It was originally Sideways who proposed the idea of this 'Omega Lock'."

"Hm? Well," Megatron grunted, unenthusiastically, "good job, Sideways, keep up the good-"

Megatron stopped suddenly when he felt the two keys he was holding lock into each other. He looked at the three of them and down at the glowing "X" in his hands, and didn't break eye contact as he reached for a third key, and pushed it into the group, causing the combination to emit a high pitched whine.

"Lord Megatron." Knock Out sighed as he reached for the fourth one. "Just so I do not need to hear you say anything, allow me to complete this." Pushing the fourth key into the others, the four keys spun and projected a holographic image of Cybertron, complete with a glowing red circle, right in the area Vortex indicated.

"Target the Space Bridge for Cybertron." Megatron ordered, his grin returning stronger than ever.

_And tell Cyclonus to get ready._

* * *

Raf was woken up by a rapid beeping in front of him.

_I take it, then, that Sideways is up to his usual tricks?_

Unicron had no idea.

"Silas!" Raf said, reading the alert, "Scanners are detecting a massive Energon burst above the atmosphere. Odds are it's the Space Bridge."

"Then it's time we made our move." Silas ordered as Scourge stood up from his berth, very carefully, Raf noted. He drove out of the Scientist's lab to the front of the command building, and inside, Raf saw the twenty drone bays lift like elevators to the roof, and the drones transformed down into Apache helicopters. "Rafael, run the tracking program."

"Run the- wait, what about Scourge?" Raf asked, idly searching the files until he found a program rather uncreatively entitled .

"Scourge has a slightly more… delicate task ahead of him." Silas said, watching as the coordinates streamed into his HUD, and he checked to make sure that his windows were rolled up. Raf noticed a faint purple glow coming from behind him and didn't even want to ask. "He'll be Ground Bridging to Carbombya momentarily."

"I really hope you know what you're doing here, Silas."

"I know exactly what I'm doing, Rafael." Silas said as a Ground Bridge portal opened in front of him. "I'm bringing fire back to the gods."

With that, he sped through in vehicle mode, followed by twenty helicopters, through the portal, and was deposited onto the flight deck of the Nemesis. Behind him, his drones plummeted silently onto the deck as soon as they came through.

"Right." Silas said. "Helicopters need _air_ to function." He transformed up and looked around. To his left, dominating his view with its pale white light, was the moon. And ahead of him, up and to the right, was the Decepticon Space Bridge. His scanner detected that a veritable horde of Insecticons, Air Vehicons, the Combaticons, and Megatron himself had just flown through before it closed, along with a garbled signature that suggested that Starscream had just traveled through… twice. "Now," he said, readying a missile launcher as the drones transformed up in unison, little the worse for wear. "Let's hope whoever's looking at the scanners doesn't object too strongly to the presence of Airachnid and twenty Insecticons on the flight deck."

As it turned out, Soundwave objected, though apparently not too strongly, because they were greeted at the door by a single ground Vehicon.

"Don't do anything stupid." Silas ordered, pointing a finger at the bot while his Armada took position behind him. The Vehicon nodded, and slowly lowered his hands while keeping his palms visible. "Good. Now, tell me where I can find your stores of Dark…"

"Soundwave, humans!" The Vehicon shouted, pressing his thumb to his ear. "I count tw-" was as far as he got before his head exploded and he dropped to his knees as Silas and his team ran through the doors before they slammed shut and the alarms went off.

"Attention, shoppers." Knock Out said somewhat softly over the intercom after a moment. "This is Knock Out speaking with a special offer! Our friends over at MECH are have been kind enough to provide their filthy corpses absolutely free of charge to the Decepticon war machine! You can find these _insolent, parasitic, contemptible cowards_ on the top floor close to the flight deck, but don't dawdle! It's first come, first serve!"

There was a clamor in the distance and several Insecticons could be heard wailing. Silas' eyes widened in momentary panic.

"Rafael. Change of plans. I need to find the bridge." Silas whispered as he began dashing through the halls with the Armada around him taking defensive positions and peeking around corners to ensure it was safe. "Can you pull up a map?"

Wha- why…

"Silas, where would I get a map of the Nemesis?" Raf asked, "You're the only MECH operative to have been on the ship since… One moment." Raf his the comm. "All channels, this is uh… Prometheus, I think. MECH-7 is required in the command chamber. Repeat, Seven, I need you."

"When on Earth did MECH-7 infiltrate the warship?" Silas asked, turning a corner and ducking back when five Vehicons opened fire from the other end of the hallway. His guards reacted instantly, taking cover behind the corner and laying down suppressing heavy machinegun fire while Silas took aim and launched a single missile into the cluster, plastering their remains against the walls. He saw a door and his troops arranged themselves on either side of it before he blasted it open allowing them to stream in, only to discover it contained a dozen damaged, recharging Vehicons. The two groups stared at each other for a moment, unmoving. The Vehicons looked down and began to raise their hands, but as soon as they moved, Silas' troopers unloaded their machineguns, cutting them to bits and leaving pockmarks on the walls.

"What was that?" Raf asked.

"First rule of breaching a room, young man," Silas said as his drones began scouring the room for anything of use, "first person to move is the most dangerous."

"They were about to surrender!" Raf protested.

"They were armed."

"They're all armed! Their weapons are literally built into their arms!"

"How's this, next time, you raid an enemy structure, and I'll criticize you. For now…" Silas and his guards trawled the halls, effortlessly mowing down every trooper they saw, most of them inexplicably traveling in groups no larger than four despite the alert.

"What's going on?" a voice behind Raf said, looking over his shoulder. "Is that the Decepticon Warship?"

"Oh, Seven, good, when you were on the ship, did you remember where the Bridge was?"

"Uh… Well, I didn't exactly have a GPS at the time." Seven pointed out. "I could retrace steps from Knock Out's lab or the cargo bay, if that helps."

"Silas, did you get that?" Raf asked.

"Yes, too bad I don't know where either of those things are either."

"Split up, then!"

"In a _raid_?"

"Is that Silas?" Seven asked. "Who's with him?"

"Mind-controlled drones." Raf explained.

"Why wouldn't he take humans?" Seven questioned.

"Not now, Agent!" Silas said, taking cover at a three way intersection behind his troopers when a large cluster of Vehicons came down from each hallway. "Rafael, it's a bit difficult to manage twenty drones when I can't visualize the space they're in."

"Then just visualize a behavior pattern and hope for the best."

Silas sighed and ten of his robots split off from the main squad in groups of five, each taking a hallway, while Silas and the remaining ten took down a third. While Silas's group continued to adapt to changing situations as they followed him around, the detached groups traveled in square formations with one in the center, traveling slowly and continually scanning the area.

This pattern of travel-shoot-breach-execute-repeat continued itself for a bit, with Vehicons putting up almost zero real resistance to the marauding robots, and some even breaking ranks and attempting to flee before getting blasted in the back and crushed underfoot by the drones that had managed to become even more ruthless without Silas around. One group stopped when it came across a large door close to the back.

"That's the cargo hold." Seven pointed out.

"Good." Silas said, "Open it up."

The five drones simultaneously took aim at different points on the door, arming their missiles when Raf remembered what Knock Out had said before.

"No, don't!" he shouted. "That's the-"

The drones opened fire, blasting the door inwards only to be immediately jumped by screaming Insecticons who tackled each one to the ground, restraining their arms, and raining crushing blows onto their heads and chest before tearing them apart.

"Insecticon… Hive." Raf sighed before the last drone went offline.

"Uh… Silas?" Seven said.

"I know. I saw." Silas said over the sound of cheering Insecticons. "And now I feel like this might just get harder."

His other drone detachment came across the blasted out section of the ship that was Knock Out's old lab, and arranged themselves in a row at the door.

"I can't believe Knock Out survived that." Seven said. "OK, from there, you're going to want to take the third left down the hall. Silas, Rejoin them from wherever you are, and…"

A group of Insecticons screeched in the distance and their buzzing echoed through the halls. This time, the drones reacted differently, arranging themselves in a row of five to block the hallway, and spinning their arm rotors rapidly as they glowed with energon, appearing as a glowing blue disc shield, held to protect both themselves and the drone next to them as their right forearms extended themselves into spears and pointed them forward in a perfect phalanx.

"Helicopter Hoplites?" Raf asked. "Really?"

"Hoplites were the ideal warriors!" Silas insisted. "Each soldier protected his brother, creating an impenetrable wall to keep any threat at bay. With their long spears to hold back even mounted units, they were effectively unstoppable!"

_They do bring that human element._

"All that matters is that they work." Seven said. "And we're about to find out."

A second later, ten flying Insecticons rounded the corner and charged at the drones, who reacted immediately, pelting them with machinegun fire and a volley of rockets that sent five of them spiraling out of control, but the remaining five slammed into their shields and pushed the group back before transforming up, jumping back, and howling at their slightly shorter opponents. The formation tightened, pointing a spear at each one, but didn't move forward. One Insecticon growled and grabbed the tip of each spear attempting to push it to the side, but the drone yanked it back and jabbed it straight into one of its secondary arms, cutting straight through at the base. It yelped and charged forward anyway, past the spear point, only to be bashed in the face by the shield of spinning electron blades while the drone next to it held it forward until its face was completely destroyed and it fell to the ground. The drone emitted a sound clip of a warcry and returned to formation, jabbing their spears forward to keep the now outnumbered Insecticons at bay.

"Old battles were not quite as dynamic as movies would have led you to believe, young man." Silas explained as he traveled through the ship and came across another double-wide door. "And I think I've found the bridge."

Raf switched the view to Silas and indeed remembered the door from Sideways' trip.

"That's it." Seven confirmed. "Now, Soundwave is most definitely in there, along with Vehicon computer operators."

"If Scourge can handle it, so can I." Silas said, taking a deep breath as his warriors lined up to one side of the door, and himself on the other. He slammed his fist on the button and the door hissed open and blaster fire immediately poured out of the room, hitting nothing. Silas laughed and leaned out, locking onto the five immediately visible Vehicons and hitting them each with a rocket before the drones ran in and began engaging the rest. Silas stopped halfway through and turned to the right to see Soundwave on his platform, with Sideways next to him.

"Sideways!" Megatron could be heard shouting. "The Combaticons have betrayed us and the Autobots have taken the Omega Keys. Send reinforcements immediately!"

"Actually, Lord Megatron," Sideways said to Soundwave as they turned to regard the intruders. "We have a bit of a situation on the ship, so you may need to seek a more effective solution."

Silas made eye contact with Sideways and locked onto Soundwave, slowly advancing on him. "Surrender, aliens, and step away from the controls." The other drones finished clearing the room and likewise took aim at the two officers.

Soundwave didn't move at all, and his face displayed a schematic of the Nemesis, and in an instant, Silas fell through a Ground Bridge portal and was dumped, along with his warriors, into darkness.

"How nice of you to drop in!" Knock Out echoed.

Silas mouthed a series of words Raf wasn't allowed to use and activated the night vision, spotting Knock Out on the opposite side of the room, with his spear.

"And you even brought friends!" Knock Out said, looking around at the warriors, who switched from SWAT configuration to Hoplite configuration to match their new surroundings.

"Silas." Raf whispered. "Thought based control might not be the best idea in case you panic again."

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that." Silas said as his troops arranged themselves in front of him. "He's not getting close."

"Am I?" Knock Out asked from right behind Silas. Silas yelped when he felt the shock hit his sides. "In a Knock Out minute, anything can happen."

Silas immediately drew his elbow back, grinning when he felt the impact. He turned around to go for a grapple, only to find that he had hit one of his drones.

"Graagh!" Silas shouted, shoving it to the ground and scanning the room to keep tabs on his troops, backing them up against the closest wall. "You think you're frightening, you pretentious, incompetent excuse for a medical professional? I've had scarier doctor's visits when I was six!"

"Tough talk coming from an overgrown monkey." Knock Out chided, his voice echoing around the walls. "What are these fellows you've got here, eh? Robot slaves? Ooh, terrifying! You definitely need about two hundred and ninety more by the looks of them."

Silas isolated the source of the sound and stepped into the middle of the room, selecting Knock Out as a target, his radar confirming that he was actually there. The moment he raised his arm, he felt a jolt in the back. And reached for it.

"You never should have left the zoo, ape." one of the drones said in Knock Out's voice.

"You're playing with fire." Another one agreed.

"I am the perfect meld of man and machine!" Silas shouted at each of them. "I will not be mocked by an effeminate toaster with a tacky paint job!"

There was silence, and Knock Out winked in front of Silas, stared him straight in the optic, and jabbed him three more times with his prod and jumped out of his reach, his smile completely gone. Silas grinned at the lack of distortion as his troopers came to surround the two of them.

"There's nowhere to run, robot." Silas sneered. "The two of us are going to settle this like men."

"Don't insult me."

"Alright then. Seize him." Silas ordered, pointing at Knock Out.

The Decepticon merely cocked his head to the side and Silas fell to his knees, struggling against the grip of four warriors that forced him to the ground. "What is this?" Silas shouted. "Let go of me!"

Raf's eye flitted towards the other screens and saw that none of the soldiers had moved, and were still standing in a circle around the two of them, with Knock Out standing over a kneeling Silas.

"Silas," Seven said, "It's not-"

"Yes, yes, I know it's not real!" Silas shouted, "It just feels, looks, and sounds like it is, meaning that there is no functional difference to me."

"Just order them to grab him."

Raf shook his head. Silas wasn't going to risk any kind of communication error. Whatever happened next was a pure battle of wits.

"You know what your problem is, parasite?" Knock Out asked. "All of your problems? You don't know your place!"

The room around Silas altered, and Silas looked down to see himself in his human body whole once more. The floor was covered in dirt and hay, and laughter could be heard behind him. He turned around to see a fence surrounding him, like some form of nature enclosure, and Knock Out stood towering next to him.

"Where is this?" Silas demanded, scrambling to his feet.

"Why, this is Six Lasers over Cybertron!" Knock Out shouted to the crowd of Cybertronians watching over them. "I'm Knock Out, and I'm proud to unveil our newest attraction, coming straight from the Terran colonies, Homo Sapiens!"

"The what?!" Silas demanded before being smacked to his knees by the bottom of Knock Out's staff as he gestured.

"Notice how quickly it stumbles back up, folks!" Knock Out explained. "its hands are actually completely useless for locomotion. You may find it hard to believe, folks, but these little monsters can actually walk upright and grasp objects, just like us!"

The crowd oohed and ahhed in interest, and Silas attempted to run away from this ridiculous scene only to be lifted up by Knock Out like a doll.

"See his grotesquely shaped cranium? Yes, our scientists haven't worked out all the details, but these things don't have sparks either! All of their mental processes, for what they're worth, anyway, are done up here in a delicate, squishy bit of matter they call the brain!" Knock Out tapped a sharp finger on the top of Silas' head, making him wince and attempt to struggle out of his grasp. "In fact, these organ are so surprisingly complex, that not only do these fleshies possess rudimentary problem solving skills, but they can even talk. Listen!"

"Unhand me!" Silas shouted, pounding uselessly against Knock Out's fingers. "You're a sick person, you know that?!"

"Of course, folks, that doesn't mean they say anything _intelligent_." Knock Out laughed and closed a hand over Silas's head, making his world go dark.

A second later, Silas gasped and found himself sitting in the back of a van, handcuffed and chained to several masked MECH troopers next to him and facing him. "What is this now?" he said, lifting his manacles and banging at the grating that protected the driver. "Where am I?"

"Oh, you don't recognize me?" an unfamiliar voice mocked. The window rolled down to reveal that there was no driver. "It's your old pal, Breakdown!"

Silas recoiled back into his seat. "This isn't real…" he muttered. "The gay robot over there is trying to trick me. This isn't real."

"What are you talking about?" one of the masked men across from him said. It was the Scientist. "What robot?"

"Ignore him." Another masked voice said. MECH-1. "He's always been crazy."

"The Cybertronian!" Silas shouted. "Breakdown, the one driving us! This is nothing but an illusion created by his… his power bottom!"

The truck came to a sudden stop, sending the humans sliding towards the front. The back door swung open and US soldiers greeted them. "Alright, maggots. Out."

Silas shook his head. He wasn't going along with this. He needed to think. Knock Out was right in front of him in reality. He just needed to reach forward and-

The others got up and walked out, pulling Silas along with their chains, and he covered his eyes in the desert sun. He looked around to see himself in the MECH base, surrounded by guard towers and barbed wire. At the base of each one was a Vehicon trooper that looked down on him, and more troopers were in the base. The soldiers prodded him along, slamming him in the back with the butts of their rifles until they reached the central hangar, where Knock Out was waiting inside.

"Greetings, you poor, unfortunate souls! Welcome to Camp Istanbul!" Knock Out said cheerfully to the group.

"Constantinople." Silas muttered under his breath.

"You lot have been randomly selected from amongst your peers to take a temporary breaks from your standard 14-hour work days of joy and merriment in order to participate in one of the most important institutions in the Global Republic as permitted by the Decepticon Council. Today, you will get to participate in elections, and this decade is special, because there is actually a second candidate on the ballot!"

The crowd murmured to themselves in pleasant surprise. Silas' eyes widened in confusion at their reaction.

"So if you'll all just make your way into the ballot booths to my left." Knock out poked as a booth next to him. "And check off your choice for chief executive, you'll be done! It's that easy to make a difference!"

"Stop this!" Silas shouted. "I refuse to participate in this ridiculous charade!"

The other prisoners looked at Silas and shrugged. "Come on, Leland," one said, "You were lucky enough to get to vote. If you waste it, you won't get another chance for ten more years!"

"What?" Silas said, backing up. "No, no, this is preposterous!"

The group marched forward over his objections, the first one entering the booth, staying in there for about thirty seconds, and then walking out, nodding approvingly. Then the next one entered, and was out in ten. The line progressed quickly until it was Silas' turn. He looked up at Knock Out in rage.

"Choose wisely." Knock Out said, and bumped him into the booth.

When he entered, he saw a simple screen, with the words "WELCOME TO THE 2020 EXECUTIVE ELECTIONS, OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED BY THE LORD HIGH PROTECTOR. PLEASE MAKE YOUR SELECTION."

Two choices were displayed. The first was Incumbent General Robert Bryce. Silas scowled, shaking his head and glancing down to the other choice… William Fowler.

"No!" Silas said. "I reject this!"

"That's not an option." Knock Out grinned, looking down from the top of the booth. "You _have_ to choose."

Silas shook his head furiously. "Got to concentrate." He said. "You are Silas. You are the light that shines in the darkness."

Knock Out slammed his prod onto the ground, breaking his focus. "Choose!" he ordered.

"You want me to choose?" Silas demanded, slamming his fist into the screen next to Agent Fowler's name. "Fine!"

The screen blinked and displayed the words "+1: General Bryce."

"No." Silas shut his eyes. "No! NO!"

The view from the surrounding drones showed Silas, the real Silas, that is, charge forward in his mech-suit, tackle Knock Out to the ground, and wrest his staff from his grasp before tossing it aside. Once the illusion was broken, Silas stood up, grabbed Knock Out by the ankle, and swung him overhead before slamming him into the ground, lifting him up, and slamming him down again, whipping him about and dragging his finish against the floor.

"You…" Knock Out coughed. "You hate that other fleshie that much, huh?"

"Silas led his warriors out the door and looked back at Knock Out. "I'm a sick person too."

Seven guided Silas through the halls of the Nemesis until they found his detachment of drones standing vigil over the stabbed and mangled bodies of ten Insecticons. With a thought, they rejoined his group and he made it back to the Bridge. When Soundwave saw them, his face flashed again, this time displaying an image of the Pacific Ocean, but without breaking stride, Silas pointed a finger and said "Bang bang bang.", launching two lead slugs into his chest and one into his visor, knocking off of his platform. Sideways looked over and looked at Silas, who dared him to object, before looking at the screen. "Status update. Now."

"Uh." Sideways muttered. "There's been a new development. It looks like the Combaticons were working for Starscream all along."

"We already knew that." Silas said. "We were literally both there. We saw him die… again."

"Well it still didn't take, because it looks like he smuggled himself onto the ship disguised as one of General Bryce's fighters when he attacked the warship-"

"He _what?!_"

"Yeah, he beat you to it. The point is that the Combaticons combined into Bruticus once they were through the Space Bridge and attacked Megatron's squad while Starscream himself tried to duel him for leadership of the 'Cons."

"How did it go?" Silas said, looking at the ship's diagnostic systems.

"Megatron cut him in half, nabbed the keys, and is as we speak blasting through the Sea of Rust to the Omega Lock."

"Then time is of the essence." Silas said, hitting a button. "Brace for emergency landing."

On the main screen, the moon began to take up a larger portion of the view.

"Uh, we're not landing." Sideways said. "We're crashing."

"That is correct." Silas said.

And then the Nemesis crashed into the moon.

The thing about crashes in space is that you expect them to be noisy affairs, but given the lack of atmosphere, the impact was completely silent as the Nemesis concluded its semi-controlled descent into the lunar surface. Silas's face stayed fixed for the entire duration as he and his warriors magnetically locked to the floor. Sideways, on the other hand, didn't quite think it through and was sent flying into a screen, knocking his arm out of his socket.

"I'd say you should have warned me," The herald said as he picked up his arm and held it in front of his shoulder while tendrils of metal pulled it back in, "but I have nobody to blame but myself."

"Correct." Silas said. "Rafael! Tell Scourge that the coast is clear!"

"Clear for what?" Seven asked.

"I have a delivery to make." Scourge said as Raf switched him to the main view. At al-Fakkadi Airbase, twenty five Sweeps, including MECH-1 himself, flanked Scourge as he took flight through a Ground Bridge portal and emerged over the Nemesis.

Silas and his troopers were waiting on the flight deck when they came through on the other side, and each warrior shot a magnetized grappling hook to latch onto a flying sweep as it passed overhead. Silas grabbed onto Sideways and looked towards the Space Bridge. "Are you ready to jump?" He asked.

"No, maybe tomorrow." Sideways said. "Come on, let's hurry this up."

Silas nodded and fired up his own grappling hook, grunting as MECH-1 latched onto it, yanking him up as the group traveled through the Space Bridge, emerging above Cybertron, and making former Colonel Leland Bishop, unbeknownst to them all, the _third_ human being in history to ever set foot onto an alien planet.

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-He's a maniac, maniac, on the floor.

-He has a TVTropes page named after him for a reason.

-Are you not entertained? Is this not what you came here for?

* * *

AN: Did I say two weeks? Clearly I meant five.

I considered, as I typed this, splitting this chapter partway down the middle, but I was never sure exactly how long the second half would be, and where I should split it, so I muscled through it, and hope you enjoy this actually proportionately long chapter for your wait.

We're in the final stretch folks, but the "good" news is that A World forged Form Chaos just might go on even longer than I expected. You'll all know... by the end of the next chapter. Sorry, not sorry.


	20. The Situation

_"Doesn't this remind you of anything?"_

-Hot Rod, Primax Cluster

* * *

"I don't believe it." Silas said as he dropped down to the Cybertronian surface, held by a steel cable tethered to MECH-1's Sweep.

"What do you mean?" Scourge said, circling overhead as slowly as possible.

"In my wildest dreams… I never could have imagined a world such as this in the universe." Silas said, taking in the view of the bombed out, rusted, gunmetal-grey hellscape the Autobots and Decepticons once called home. "A world once populated by sentient machines, filled with the technological marvels of eons of peace and war. Cultural artifacts and weapons of mass destruction. A world so orderly, so clearly once pristine, now blackened in the fires of war. Such splendor and beauty." Silas slammed down on the tallest building, placing Sideways down next to him. The Armada landed on the same roof, arranged in a circle and looking out in all directions. "And it's all sitting there for the taking."

"Don't get to excited yet, Si." Sideways said, walking over to one edge and pointing out towards the horizon. "There's still a whole lot of nasty over yonder."

Silas was about to ask when Sideways meant when he heard the explosions. His drones all pointed their heads in that direction and saw Bruticus draw himself up to his full height and begin showering the ground beneath him with flames, stomping on Vehicons, and blocking return fire with a shield made of Vortex's rotor.

"Looks like they stole your idea, Silas." Scourge said from above.

"He needs a spear." Silas said.

"So what's the plan?" Sideways asked.

"Well." Silas said, looking out and zooming in on the fight. The Vehicons were putting up a good effort, but Bruticus was too powerful, too fast, too skilled, and, Sideways no doubt figured, too tall. "Our first priority is to steer clear of that." Strewn amongst the bodies was the distinctive silver husk of Starscream. Impaled, decapitated, and scorched, dripping at the claws with Dark Energon. "Next, we need to find Megatron…"

In the distance, Bruticus roared. "Bruticus will kill as many Decepticons as he needs to as long as you are one of them, Megatron!" The combiner swept away the Vehicons at his feet and began to lumber away from where it was standing, and Silas zoomed in to see him approaching a cloud of electromagnetic disruption formed by the pitched swordfight between Optimus Prime and Megatron.

"The keys." Sideways said, "Where are the keys?"

Each of Silas' drones began to scan the area of the battle, until they locked onto the forms of Smokescreen, Bumblebee, Arcee, and Bulkhead, gripping the keys and firing at the Vehicons as they backed up towards Optimus. Optimus shouted something at the four of them, and they exchanged glances before transforming down and speeding away.

"They're heading towards the Omega Lock!" Silas shouted, pointing after them. "Scourge, you and your sweeps _must_ reach it first!"

"We've got our mission." Scourge affirmed, banking to the side and blasting off. "Let's give them what's coming to them!"

"Hitting the boost." MECH-1 responded. "Full force!"

And with that, Scourge and his escort took off at Mach 1.5, around the edge of the battle, and deeper into the Sea of Rust. As each craft moved into the pervasive cloud of aluminum, silicates, and oxidized metal, their displays became ever fuzzier, their radar position unidentifiable, and within thirty seconds, contact was lost.

"Now it's our turn." Silas said, hopping off of the side of the roof and sliding down the wall of the building until he hit the bottom. His Armada did the same, half-transforming on the way down to slow their descent, and Sideways climbed down, hopping from ledge to ledge before flipping in mid-air and sticking the landing. "Show-off," Silas muttered under his breath.

"Silas." Raf said, "The Sea of Rust is a dead zone, I've lost Scourge already. He's fine, but…"

"You have his vitals?" Silas questioned.

"No." Raf said, "I…"

_You will be the first to know._

"No, silly question." Silas said, transforming down. "Scourge isn't going down from some chaff in his intakes."

"I don't understand." Sideways said.

"Chaff?" Silas said. "It's a form of radar interference created by-"

"No, not that. Why hasn't Prime run?" He pointed at the ongoing duel. "His bots have the keys, he should be racing off to meet them."

A moment later, as Bruticus loomed ever closer, Optimus Prime leapt back, flipping in the air, and launched a sword beam at Megatron, knocking him off of his feet and into the chest of the Combaticon war machine, knocking it on its back.

"Graagh!" Megatron shouted at the Vehicons that began to swarm Bruticus like ants. "Forget Bruticus, you idiots! The Keys! I will have them, or I will have your sparks!"

"Way ahead of you, buddy." An unexpected voice shouted. Everybody looked up to see, wearing the Apex Armor and holding a familiar blue disc, Miko. She tucked the Spark Extractor under her arm like a football and leapt down into the crowd. As the relic began to crackle with energy, Bruticus reacted faster than a bot of his size had any right to, raising his legs into the air and flinging his weight to bounce onto his feet and take a mighty leap into the sky, with Megatron screaming in rage and fear as he clung desperately to the combiner's shoulder for dear life. Around Miko, a shining blue burst of energy expanded like a bubble. Vehicons slumped around her immediately. Some dropped to their knees or their stomachs, others went limp in a standing position. A few attempted to transform and blast away from the attack, but they were too slow and barely made it off of the ground before slamming back down, nose-first. "Optimus!" Miko shouted, running towards the momentarily resting leader, "We have to go!" Optimus nodded in affirmation, having been clear of the blast radius by several meters at most, and transformed down as she leapt into the air and hopped on to the back of Optimus who sped away into the Rust Sea after the other Autobots.

"Was that...?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Megatron shouted. A scream of rage so pure and malevolent that all of Silas' drones targeted it automatically as it streaked overhead faster than ever before, and Raf actually couldn't feel Unicron at the base of his skull for its duration. The room actually vibrated, Sideways seemed to buzz and… shift, and for a moment all was wrong with the world.

Several thumps thundered in the distance, approaching quickly, and in a second, Bruticus was charging at full speed in the same direction, ignoring the buildings and rubble at its feet like loose twigs. "FEE, FI, FO, FUM! I DETECT THE BLOOD OF UNICRON!" It shouted.

Silas and Sideways exchanged fearful glances at that, and Silas' drones immediately transformed up and began speeding off after them, followed by Silas and Sideways, gunning their engines as hard as possible. In seconds, all of them had penetrated the haze that was the Sea of Rust, leaving Raf blind. The road race for the fate of the galaxy had begun, and Raf couldn't see it. But Miko could.

_Life is full of these little ironies. But I maintain full faith in all of their abilities._

Even Silas'? He didn't seem like he was completely on board with… whatever Unicron wanted.

_Cyclonus is a warrior. He and his Armada are not required for their thoughts, they are required for their ability to destroy my enemies._

But that's not what Silas was at all. He's not a weapon to be pointed in a direction and trusted to murder. He had thoughts. He had ambitions. He had…

_A spine. Albeit one shattered in several places, thanks to his own ambition. Cyclonus will follow my plan. And if he does not, Sideways will keep him on track._

But Sideways wasn't _acting _according to Unicron's plan.

_But he is acting according to my interests._

That was ridiculous. That was madness. That-

_Is Chaos._

"Kid."

What now?

"Raf?" Seven said, nudging his shoulder.

"Huh? What?"

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I've just… got a lot on my mind."

_That was still not clever._

Another flick to the head, met in return with a scream in his mind. Raf didn't think that that would work.

_It's not that, fool. It's that-_

"Base." Scourge reported, as his screen winked back to life. "I have located the Omega Lock."

The view was a Scourge-eye view of him circling a Cybertronian super-structure. Four pillars so massive that any one of them would have easily taken up a city block supported a likewise massive disk, a pale blueish membrane glowing in the circle like bubble soap in a wand. It wasn't Energon. But it was something. And it made him uncomfortable.

Scourge slowly circled the Omega Lock in strafing formation, and below the disk, no longer obscured by a pillar, were his twenty-four Sweeps, engaged in vicious melee combat with the Autobots, sans Optimus Prime and Miko. Another quarter revolution, and Arcee was thrown into a wall. Another pillar blocked the view, and then Bulkhead and Smokescreen were down. Obscured, and then Bumblebee was alone against the horde and… and they swarmed him, some of them grabbing his arms, while MECH-1 slammed a robotic fist into the scout's abdomen. In the exact spot from which his T-Cog had been cut, and energon spurted out from the wound. By the time Scourge had made a full orbit, the four Autobot warriors were on their knees, hands behind their heads, eight MECH troopers standing behind them, blasters aimed square at their heads and backs.

And then there was screaming again. Distant, but approaching fast. Scourge ducked away from the source, hard, just in time for Megatron to blast right past where he was at speeds approaching Mach 1 and transform down, landing in a low crouch before standing up slowly and surveying the scene as those who he considered his greatest enemies were arranged, ready to be summarily executed, by those who he considered to be lower than insects.

And Scourge just continued his orbital pattern, at a slightly further distance, as Megatron didn't say a word for a moment. The Sweeps guarding the Autobots didn't move. The remaining sixteen, including MECH-1, raised their blasters slowly, as if Megatron were a wild deer that they didn't want to spook.

"I am here for it." Megatron rasped, seemingly looking past them at something in the distance that only he could see.

"For… what?" MECH-1 asked.

"Omega Lock." Megatron said, his voice short and clipped, unsure of his words. "I need the Omega Lock." He began to beep and click and whirr. "Give it to me." He switched back to English. "The power you took." Clicking. "I need my planet." The Sound that Megatron made, Raf's mind said planet, but he felt something. Another meaning. He felt the words "Source" and "God" and "Creator" and "Home". But "Planet" was the word he found himself drawn to.

MECH-1 and the sweeps took a cautious step back. "Are you OK?"

Megatron began to glow purple, starting from the insignia over his spark before it snaked out across his body like veins, particularly around his neck and his eyes. Eyes that looked straight at Scourge. Straight at Raf.

"Silence, Starscream!" Megatron shouted. "You are not in command! I am in command!" His eyes snapped to MECH-1. "I still function!"

"What does-"

"Omega Lock." Megatron said, holding out a hand. "Surrender. Now. Please."

"I don't think you understand the situation." MECH-1 said. "And frankly, it's making me nervous, and considering what I've seen, that's saying a lot."

Megatron _shone_. "No…"

"What?"

"No."

"Uh…"

Megatron slowly approached them, reaching for his sword. "Noooo…"

An engine roared behind Megatron, and two transformation sounds. The Cylas feed kicked back in. "Megatron." Silas boomed.

Megatron stopped. The purple receded. His posture returned to normal, his overpowering rage replaced by his usual scowl, as he turned to regard Silas and Sideways.

"I would suggest that you put a halt to your anger," Silas continued, "and wait for Optimus Prime."

"And why would I do that?" Megatron scoffed.

Silas snapped his fingers, and Scourge banked, rolled, and dove between two pillars, attracting the attention of the gathered warriors before pulling up, executing a mid-air transformation, and landing on the edge of the pool, holding out a large, egg-shaped device. From Scourge's perspective, it took up half of his view and required two arms to carry, and from Silas' it resembled the jars used to hold Iacon relics, with, of course, a MECH-issued makeover.

"Because if you make a fight out of this, then I will be forced to call down Scourge," Silas explained, "and he will be forced to drop his very delicate cargo into this Very Fortuitous Device of yours."

Megatron craned his neck to get a better look at the heavy item in Scourge's hands.

"And if I decide that I don't care?" Megatron asked.

Scourge grunted and hefted the egg onto his knee, sliding open a glowing green panel, being sure to face it away from him, exposing several perfectly cut glowing green rocks.

The reaction was instantaneous. All four Autobots groaned. Arcee collapsed to the ground and had to be pulled up by a Sweep. Bumblebee emitted a high pitched whine. Bulkhead made a retching noise as Smokescreen leaned against him. Megatron stumbled to the side, struggling to maintain his footing and attempted to shield himself with his arm on instinct. After a few seconds, Scourge slid the panel closed, and lifted it back into position.

"Then a Tox-En bomb will be detonated at a direct conduit for what you call 'The Allspark'." Silas said once the Cybertonians had regained their bearings. "And we can all watch your entire race instantly perish, _together_."

Megatron looked at Silas, then to Sideways, back to the Sweeps, and then to the kneeling Autobots. "You wouldn't dare. You're not capable of it." He spat, turning to Silas.

Silas shrugged. "You'd be surprised what I'm capable of."

"You're insane!" Smokescreen shouted. "All three of you!" He was immediately struck on the back of the head by the Sweep behind him, knocking to the ground. He pushed himself up and wiped the rust off of his chin. "And you, Sideways! Why are you doing this?"

"He's betrayed us both, Autobot." Megatron growled. "Betrayed us for these _humans_."

"It's not betrayal." Sideways said. "I was never on your side."

"And whose side are you on?" Smokescreen demanded. "Who do you work for?"

"For the third time." Sideways shrugged, gesturing to the MECH agents, and then pointing upwards at such a precise angle that Raf was pretty sure that Sideways was looking specifically at the Sol star, if not his planet in particular. "I'm here to protect the Earth."

"But it's not the people of Earth, is it?" the voice of Optimus Prime said from behind them. Silas and Sideways turned to see the Autobot leader, standing with the Star Saber pointed at them, and Miko standing next to him in her Apex Armor. "While many details are unknown to me, particularly those of the specific nature of MECH's involvement, I finally understand who, or rather, what, you are, Herald of Unicron."

_Well it is about time._

The words hung in the air for a moment.

"What?" Bulkhead said.

"Optimus, what are you talking about?" Smokescreen asked.

"What's a Herald?" Miko asked.

"I'm sorry, did you say 'unicorn'?" MECH-1 snickered.

"Of course…" Megatron muttered. "Things are becoming clearer to me. The humans have had… outside assistance."

"Insider knowledge." Silas smiled.

"You're not kidding." Bulkhead said, shaking his head clear of the remaining effects of the Tox-En. "Deep inside. 'Core-of-the-planet' inside."

"It would stand to reason," Optimus began, looking at his gathered audience, "that-"

"BE THEY FLESH OR BE THEY RUST, I'LL CRUSH THEIR BODIES INTO DUST." Bruticus shouted, emerging from the rust cloud.

"You know," Sideways said taking a cautious step back as the Sweeps raised their weapons, "Somehow I completely forgot about that."

"I didn't." Silas said, furrowing his brow. Immediately, the feeds for five of his drones came back online as they dropped out of the sky, towards Bruticus.

"NO!" Bruticus roared, punching one out of the sky, smashing it two as another latched onto his back. He grabbed at a third one and threw it to the ground while the one on his back climbed up to his neck.

"I don't believe it." Optimus Prime said.

"This is awesome!" Miko cheered, watching the fight.

Bruticus reached up to grab the one on his neck as the fourth drone landed on his face and drew its arm back into spear formation, preparing to spear the combiner's face before being knocked away with the drone attempting to choke him. The fifth drone landed on the ground and ran towards Bruticus, who attempted to lift his leg to kick it, only to find it pinned to the ground with the spear arm of another drone. The lull was all they needed to swarm Bruticus, climbing up his body as the combiner pounded at itself to remove them, throwing his body into one of the pillars of the Omega Lock in an attempt to dislodge them.

"Ruh roh!" Scourge shouted as he locked his feet into place to maintain his balance, keeping a death grip on the bomb.

"Whoah, what's Scourge holding?" Miko asked, noticing him for the first time.

"Bio-nuclear-anthrax for robots." Silas snapped. "Now hush, child, I'm trying to focus."

The half a drone had managed to crawl its way to Bruticus, and the other drones lifted it up and gave it a hold onto Bruticus' neck.

"Let's make this quick." Silas shouted, and the other four helicopter hoplites bailed off of the Combaticon combiner in time for the half drone to violently self-destruct, filling each feed with smoke.

"Suicide bombing?" Seven said, making Raf nearly jump out of his seat. Forgot he was there. "Nothing could have survived that."

_He is very quiet sometimes._

"That's why he has drones." Raf said. "But I think Bruticus survived."

"Why?" Seven asked, looking down at him.

"Because," Raf said, pointing to the screen as the rust cleared again and Bruticus still stood tall, looking down, lifting up his fists to pound at the crowd, "you said 'nothing could have survived that'. See? It isn't even dented."

"Oh shit." Seven asked, "What are they gonna do now?"

_Perhaps this final boss needs what you call a 'debuff'?_

A… what?

_The Tox-En. Open the shielding and expose the giant to it._

But that would expose the Autobots, too.

_You cannot possibly think that I care._

Raf cared.

_Then by all means, let them all be crushed._

"Gah, fine." Raf pulled up the Scourge controls, assuming manual control, and, making sure Scourge was stable, opened up the hatch, and activated the mic. "Hey, Bruticus!" Raf shouted. "Get a load of this!"

"BRUTICUS FEARS NO- OH." Bruticus said, looking up at the exposed, refined Tox-En. The combiner stumbled back and weakly reached up to Scourge in an attempt to dislodge him, grunting in frustration when another of Silas' drones jammed its spear into his shoulder joint, pinning the arm in place. " . CRUSH. YOU." He moaned as he dropped to his knees, clutching his head. "BRUTICUS… SMASH."

"I really wanted to save this one for when I really needed it," Silas flipped up his shoulder missile, locking onto Bruticus, "But I doubt any bigger robots are coming after this." The largest missile in his arsenal streaked through the air, hitting Bruticus dead center in the face, the explosion pushing everybody back and forcing Scourge to unflap his wings to keep from falling over the edge while he hugged his bomb close to his chest.

"Are you all aware that I am holding a superweapon?" Scourge shouted at the robots below.

Nobody answered, and Bruticus groaned, leaned over, and began to fall, his shadow darkening over Optimus Prime, who let out a weak moan, too weak from his exposure to the Tox-En to move away.

_Of all of the deaths of Optimus Prime across space and time, this one might be the most undignified._

No!

"Optimus!" Raf shouted. "Move!"

Silas shielded his optics from the crash, leaving Raf blind to what happened next.

"I don't believe it." Megatron, again, was the first to recover from the Tox-En, stumbling back to his feet, clutching his forehead and looking at the crash. "Optimus Prime. My greatest foe. And Bruticus, my greatest warrior." He turned to look at MECH-1 and Silas. "Felled by _humans_. My destiny… This was not how it was supposed to end."

"You are correct, Megatron." There was a mighty groaning of metal as Bruticus' limp form was pushed up at the torso. Everybody turned to look and saw Optimus Prime slowly crawl out from beneath the wreckage, followed by Miko, in her Apex Armor. "And I would not have allowed it to end, otherwise."

"Optimus!" Smokescreen shouted.

"Miko!" Bulkhead smiled.

"Silas." Miko said, running full speed towards them.

"Miko, don't!" Optimus shouted, but it was too late, and Silas grunted in pain as the Apex Armor slammed into his chest cavity, throwing him up and back several meters.

"Upstart, Japanese, bi-" Silas shouted before Miko grabbed him by the ankles, yanking him out of the air, and slammed him into the ground. Silas flipped himself onto his back and looked up at the girl, her eyes burning with rage in the screen "You want to rock?" He pulled back his legs and kicked her in the chest, pushing her back and letting him regain his footing. "Let's rock then, girl."

"Silas, no!" Raf shouted. "If you crack the armor, Miko will be exposed to Cybertron's toxic atmosphere, she'll die."

"I'll risk it!" Silas shouted, cycling through missiles in his mind, pointing his wrists at her and firing several blasts to no avail as she slammed into his waist, raising a fist and pounding his robotic face.

"The Apex Armor is invincible, remember?" Raf said.

"Then I've got nothing to lose!" Silas said, grabbing Miko at the shoulders and slamming his head into her visor, knocking her head back inside it before chucking her off of him. Miko stood up and groaned, shaking her head, blood leaking from her old wound that had reopened. "Oh I'm sorry, are you hurt?" Silas mocked, dropping into a combat stance and circling her, looking for an opening. "That's the thing people forget about armor. We're all still human on the inside."

"Some of us more than others." Miko snapped, waving a metal hand in front of her face in a 'you can't see me' motion. "I'm going to break you like a Kit-Kat bar." She said, pointing at him before drawing her thumb across her neck.

"No you won't." Sideways shouted, and the both of them turned their heads. Sideways had drawn his blades, resting one of them on Bulkhead's neck. "Not unless you want Bulkhead to be the first to rejoin the Allspark. Or what'll be left of it."

"Are you really that afraid of a little girl, Si?" Bulkhead spat.

"No." Silas smiled, backing up close to Sideways and glaring at a frustrated Miko. "But I have a job to do, and she's in my way."

Miko growled, and seemed ready to pounce on him again, only for Optimus and Megatron, apparently having had their own discussion during the fight, place a hand on each of her shoulders.

"You have a warrior's spark." Megatron said as Miko violently shrugged his hand off.

"But the fate of our world hangs in the balance." Optimus said. "As does yours."

"Yes, yes." Silas said. "I believe that before our interruption, Optimus was in the middle of some convenient exposition for our gathered guests?" Silas said, gesturing to the Autobots while the Sweeps not guarding their hostages moved to circle Optimus, Miko, and Megatron. "I'm quite interested to hear what you have learned."

"Indeed." Optimus said. "Silas, what you do not know is that several months ago, humanity found itself facing an even greater threat than MECH or the Decepticons. An enemy within: Unicron."

"Not a unicorn." Miko clarified.

"Your planet's core is not made up of what your limited science has led you to believe." Optimus explained. "Your world is formed around the decomposing husk of the Chaos Bringer, the ultimate evil."

"A fact that proves ever more significant by the minute." Megatron continued. "It was through the combined efforts of the Autobots and myself that your world, and the entire universe, was saved from utter destruction."

"And I suppose you saved us out of the goodness of your heart?" Silas asked.

"No." Megatron smiled. "But I am a conqueror, not a destroyer."

"I had first appealed to the Chaos Bringer to spare your world, because humanity is just as much his progeny as we are of Primus, the heart of our planet." Optimus pointed up at the Omega Lock, and then to the ground beneath his feet, and shook his head. "The appeal was unsuccessful, to a point, and I had no choice to unleash the power of the Matrix into his Anti-Spark after a journey to the center of the Earth."

"So you were the cause of the anomalous weather patterns?" Silas questioned. "When you attempted to shut down our core?"

"No!" Megatron snapped his fingers. "Focus, human, Unicron's awakening would have doomed us all. It was the cosmic forces generated by his stirring that nearly tore your world asunder. Your core was not destroyed, Unicron was simply forced into permanent stasis, just as Primus was."

"And when you forced Unicron into stasis." Silas said, his expression darkening, "Did you consider the possibility that doing so would render our world into an uninhabitable wasteland, like yours?" He gestured to the swirling rust storms around them.

"I… did not." Optimus admitted. "He was in stasis before, returning him to that state should have, and indeed did, leave your world as it was."

"But what we did not know is that, in his brief moment of consciousness, Unicron formulated a backup plan." Megatron said. "He brought forth a herald. One none of us would suspect."

Optimus pointed to the purple cyber-ninja. "Sideways."

"This is a serious accusation." Sideways teased, pressing his blade against Bulkhead's neck, causing a trickle of energon to leak. "I assume you have proof that I work for robo-satan?"

"I do. My suspicions were first aroused when you explained how you had supposedly come to arrive on Earth. You claimed that your Autobot escape pod had locked on to the nearest Autobot signal, that of Smokescreen's pod, and that that was how you found your way to Earth. But Smokescreen had just said that he was in stasis, and was riding in a _Decepticon _escape pod."

"And I had Soundwave do a bit of research on your story," Megatron said, "And he found no record of _any _espionage operations during the exceptionally brief Silvart skirmish."

"Furthermore, it was soon after your arrival that Ratchet began to notice a great deal of irregularities in the base's Ground Bridge ledger." Optimus Prime continued, "Particularly after a particularly complex maneuver was executed, transporting an unknown individual from Nevada to a secure military facility in Colorado without using out base as a relay station, an exceptionally risky activity given our Base's hardware limitations. Ratchet would never have attempted such a thing, as there would have been a possibility that the passenger would have suffered, amongst other things: mass displacement trauma, twisted limbs, or metal burn."

"Wait, what." Silas muttered, glancing sideways at Sideways.

"Your 'ally' does not keep your best interests in mind." Megatron laughed. "But he was willing to risk your life to save his original inside bot." Megatron pointed upwards.

"Scourge?" Miko asked.

"That's right, little one." Megatron said. "Ever since I first caught wind of MECH's secret weapon, something seemed critically wrong to me. It was impossible that my operations could have been so thoroughly crippled by _humans_."

"Crippled?" Scourge shouted from his perch. He'd actually placed the bomb on the ledge and was _sitting on the edge and letting his feet dangle_. "You had said they were just minor setbacks."

"The first lost mine?" Megatron scoffed. "We didn't even notice, we'd been mining energon faster than we could use it. Your pathetic excuse for a threat was played on loop for the amusement of the troops. The second and third mine? Fine, we added more guards."

"I _knew_ it." MECH-1 said from off to the side.

"But soon it was getting ridiculous." Megatron spat. "And when you defeated Soundwave, I refused to believe that such a warrior could have been constructed by human 'intelligence' alone." Megatron actually made air quotes. "It was then that I resolved to finish you off, once and for all. Hardshell was quite willing to take you up on your offer of single combat, but I was not one to take chances."

"MECH thanks you for your donation." Silas smiled, gesturing to the four troopers that remained of his Armada, each clutching an Omega Key.

"And _then_," Megatron said, ignoring the interruption, "I decided that it was time to destroy your wretch myself, and when I came face to face with him in the Apex Armor," Megatron gestured to Miko, "Even I would not have expected to sense Dark Energon flowing through his veins."

"The lifeblood of Unicron, your world." Optimus said. "I know not how you came into contact with the substance, but when you used it, you tampered with forces beyond your comprehension."

"You'd be surprised what I can comprehend." Silas said, cocking his head to the side.

"Tell, me, Silas, when will your ambition be satisfied?" Optimus snapped. "Look around you." Optimus gestured to the dead expanse. "When your lust for conquest devastates your world, just as Megatron's did ours? When humanity has no choice but to flee to the stars, scrounging on the leftovers of less advanced races, just to survive?"

"Well, let's not act as if you are completely blameless…" Megatron muttered as an aside. "And the human's haven't even been to the next planet over, much less another star."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Silas asked. "Humanity will travel the stars, alien. Not as nomads or vagrants, but as _conquerors_." Silas clenched a fist, and his lights began to take on a purple tint. "Our world will fulfill its _destiny_, as the center of a _new universal order_, we will _strip the universe barren_ to power the _engine_ that is _human potential_." He pointed an accusatory finger at Optimus. "Who are you,_ Prime, _to stand _in the way_ of _Earth's future?"_ His Armada circled the central platform of the Omega Lock. "_Who are you, Disciple of Primus, to Order us?"_ There was almost as much contempt in the word 'order' as Silas would normally put into the word 'Alien' or 'Bryce'.

"Silas…" Seven muttered. "That's not… MECH…"

"Hang on." Smokescreen shouted, directing everybody's attention back to the hostages. "I'm still confused about some things, like, how did MECH know how to-"

He was immediately struck in the back of the head by the Sweep behind him. Bumblebee whirred in disapproval for a second until Sideways' second blade appeared under his neck.

The Armada slid the keys in. Unicron seemed to shiver in anticipation. Silas hit the holographic button that had appeared, and a blue beam shot straight from the Omega Lock's ring into a nearby ruin, the rubble levitating and, in seconds, a shiny new building stood in its place, gleaming with light in stark contrast to the decay surrounding it.

"Whoah." Miko said, looking over her shoulder at where the beam hit. "Instant home makeover!"

"Silas… I am afraid that I am at a loss as to your plan here." Optimus said. "The Omega Lock exists as a means to revitalize our world. It serves you no purpose. Return home, and when Cybertron is restored, I promise you that our two races will never make contact again."

"That's where you're wrong." Silas said. "Actually, you're wrong about a lot of things… but I digress. Sideways, is everything prepared?"

Sideways lowered his head, and a second later, a Space Bridge portal appeared above the Omega Lock.

"I always said that we should solve our problems at home before we butted into other people's business." Silas said, and entered another sequence.

"No he didn't." Seven said, less shocked and more amused.

"Silas!" Megatron and Optimus Prime shouted in unison.

"Are you mad?" Optimus demanded, taking a cautious step forward.

"You DARE steal my idea?!" Megatron shouted at the exact same time.

Optimus and Miko looked up at Megatron, who just gritted his teeth and shook his head.

"Silas, if you activate that device, the Omega Lock will Cyberform your planet in favor of its new Matrix, destroying all indigenous life in the process!" Optimus pleaded. "You are being deceived! You will destroy everything you hold dear!"

Silas looked at the button, to Sideways, and then down at his metal hands. "On the contrary, Alien." He smiled as he activated the Omega Lock again. "I'm about to get everything I've ever wanted."

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-Witness the power of this fully armed and operational battle station

-Bad comedy

-Keep your eye on the birdie!

* * *

AN: So this took a while. Whoops. I had the most massive case of writers block for months. Literally the other saved documents on FF expired except for chapter 19. I knew what I wanted, but I couldn't put it to paper. Ended up watching the entire series over again on netflix, and the fourth bay movie, which I hadnn't gotten around to. I really should have, too. The human subplot of Age of Extinction could have been a significant influence on this story, had I seen it before. I was literally messaging some friends like "CIA ANTI-ROBOT DEATH SQUADS!" "HOLY SHIT FRASIER CRANE HAS A MASSIVE INFERIORITY COMPLEX, JUST LIKE SILAS." "OPTIMUS WHAT ARE YOU DOING WE BOUGHT THAT SEED FAIR AND SQUARE, WE HAD A SAFE DETONATION POINT. THAT'S HUMANITY'S FUTURE YOU'RE TAKING INTO SPACE."

Howard Attinger is basically what Silas could have become if he were less belligerent with his superiors whenever they had an ideological conflict. I highly recommend that anybody who doesn't like the bay movies but likes this story to go back and watch Age of Extinction because there are some serious parallels that I did not expect. The Transformium Robots, also, are almost exactly what I had imagined Sideways as being, though Sideways still transforms normally. But I should have known this stuff because I'd been using quite a few quotes from that movie as chapter openers (Which I hope you guys appreciate, because nobody ever comments on them.)

I almost considered finishing up the story in its entirety which would have made this chapter twice as long, but then I thought, no, people have been waiting months, just submit this perfectly adequate chapter, and write at your own pace.

The next (And hopefully final) chapter of AWFFC should come out in a few weeks. Certainly by the end of the summer. Hopefully by the end of July.

Though I _have_ been toying with the idea of a sequel story after reading some MTMTE... We'll cross that Space Bridge when we get to it, won't we?


	21. Lightbringer

_"Nope, never seen anything like this before."_

-Kup, Primax Cluster

* * *

_To quote the infinitely charismatic Predacon Megatron of the Primax cluster: "YES."_

There was just no way. There was no way in hell it would end like this. Raf looked up at the skylight, the full moon shining brightly over the base. There was no way, after all they'd been through, that this was how it ended. Silas was going to kill them all, based on a vision. Unicron had lied. He had manipulated Raf into orchestrating humanity's destruction, and Raf had gone along every step of the way.

_Do you feel it, Rafael? Do you feel the power?_

That was the worst part. Raf could feel it. It felt like a blanket fresh out of the dryer enveloping him on a cold day. It was the fruit punch after a bike ride. The first breath of air after you dove into a swimming pool. It was a warm hand to hold and the hot wind in his face. He would kill for it, because in that moment it was as though he would never be sad again.

And only a little part of his mind hated it like he knew he should have.

Seven stood back from the chair and stared up at the screen. "He's gone insane," he muttered, "The Scientist… The Dark Energon..."

Raf felt the Earth shake, and the onset of a headache, though Seven didn't react. At the same time, there was a significant increase in radio chatter throughout the base, alarms blared, and cars could be heard transforming. Were they going to evacuate the base? To where? There was no safe zone. The planet was about to be… what had Optimus said? Cyberformed? Turned into… Turned into a giant robot.

_Larger than life._

"Attention, Silas and MECH." Abdul Fakkadi announced from a corner screen. He was sitting in his office, in an ever so slightly more modest uniform than before, MECH's insignia front and center on his peaked cap, flanked by troopers in uniforms that had been modified to suit Carbombya's desert climate, less resembling bikers and more resembling desert nomads of some sort, still staring at the screen behind those inexpressive goggles under their tattered face wrappings. "We are having something of an international crisis in Carbombya. I humbly request that you _stop the imperialist United States from invading my country! _As the Commander in Chief, King of Kings, and Pres-"

An explosion on his end, and the feed cut.

"Rafael!" the Scientist shouted from a corner screen. He was running around his office, pushing documents from his desk into piles, tucking blueprints under his arm, typing away one-handed at computer terminals. "You and Seven need to stay where you are, do you understand? No matter what happens, the only way you should exit should be a Ground Bridge!"

"A Ground Bridge to where?!" Seven demanded. "Silas is about to send the planet up space-creek without a thruster! Did we construct a flying fortress while I wasn't paying attention?" He paused and turned to the screen. "Actually, wait, _did_ we construct a flying fortress?"

"No, but I wish we did, now." The Scientist said, scratching his chin and dropping slips of paper. "And watch your tone agent. What are you talking about?"

"That huge energy pulse our scanners just registered?" Seven gestured out, "That was Silas' masterstroke that he conveniently didn't tell us about. He's about to turn our planet into Roboworld!"

_Robot Hell!_

"Not so, agent." The Scientist said as MECH TECHs began shutting down computers and gathering equipment, aided by the robotic arms of… of Airachnid. "I've just enacted Operation Orpheus. The base is being completely evacuated in preparation for the _Endesieg_."

"The what?" Seven said, looking at the vault door to the chamber they were in while Raf looked back at the screen.

"Such raw power!" Silas marveled. "What shall I call my new domain? New Tartarus? Or perhaps… Greater Carbombya?" he laughed as he locked eyes with Optimus and Megatron.

The other Autobots groaned weakly, the concentrated dose of Tox-En still taking a toll on their systems.

"No!" Optimus shouted, drawing his Star Saber at the same time that Megatron drew his Dark Saber. The two leaders readied their blades, preparing to charge straight for Silas. Faster than the Cylas' cameras could pick up, Sideways dashed towards them, blades flashing, and as the two prepared to slash at them both, Sideways was _behind_ them, and elbowed them both in the back, knocking them to the ground, though both recovered, somersaulting away, blades back up. "Such speed!"

"I'll hold them off!" Sideways shouted. "Keep an eye on the beam and ensure that protocol is followed! Sweeps, don't worry about me, but if Silas or the lock are threatened…" He pointed at the four Autobots and drew a thumb across his neck.

Silas nodded. And the fight began.

Raf looked down at the Scourge controls as the ground shook again. He could hear it pounding in his ears. He could end this. He could send Scourge down, and destroy the Omega Lock. Earth would be saved.

_And Cybertron would be doomed._

Optimus would understand. He'd do the same if he didn't have a choice.

_He would not. When Primus' life hangs in the balance, the Prime will always choose his creator before another._

No. Unicron was lying. Optimus Prime wasn't like that.

_And what would you tell Ratchet? That you destroyed the only device in this or any universe capable of restoring his world?_

This was ridiculous. Unicron was stalling, to stop him from saving his planet.

_Oh, ye of little faith._

The sound of the mobilization of forces outside the base reached a level almost approaching that of the Carbombyan invasion. The tremors were rising and falling in a consistent pattern. He'd almost gotten used to them, but they were getting louder. And the sky was beginning to take on a bluish-purple tint, even the moon seemed wrong, its shadows almost resembling a face contorted in agony.

"Scourge!" Raf shouted into the comm. "Scourge, listen, you have to stop Silas. He's going to destroy us all!"

Scourge cocked his head. "Sorry, Rafael, but this is what I was made to do." He shrugged as he monitored the beam, an arm resting on the bomb that would kill them all if things went south.

"No, Scourge!" Raf said. "Forget that. You're not just a robot, or a labor saving device. You're alive. Your decisions, your purpose, they belong to you!"

"But remember." Scourge said, "I belong to him."

Down on the ground, Megatron and Optimus Prime were unleashing a flurry of blows on the smaller Sideways, who was holding them both off with ease, only devoting one side of his body to each one of them.

Optimus attempted to swing the Star Saber at him, and Sideways ducked underneath it, giving the two Cybertronians enough time to spin around to be behind him, preparing to strike his exposed back, only for Sideways to jump up and slam his feet back, catching both of them in the chest.

The two leaders were as one, springing back to catch him in the back again, only for Sideways to jump straight up without even looking at them, point his arms down, and launch both of his missiles.

Prime jumped out of the way, Megatron did not. Both explosions rocked the view, and Optimus stood up first, looking up to where Sideways used to be, but not where he was, which was directly behind Optimus.

"Behind you." He grinned, and jumped to kick Optimus in the back of the head, launching him forward onto his stomach, away from the Omega Lock. "Just stay down, and accept defeat."

"You don't…" Megatron wheezed as he stood back up, clutching his shoulder as energon dripped. "You don't know Optimus Prime at all."

"Megatron." Optimus Prime's eyes widened as he returned to his feet and regarded his greatest enemy. "You…"

Megatron was missing his right arm, and the Dark Star Saber lie shattered into pieces next to the mangled wreckage of the hand of…

_Liege Maximo._

Liege Maximo. Thanks, Unicron.

_Any time._

"Heh." Megatron smiled as only he could. "Quite an inconvenience, having to fight with one arm."

"You always were ever the trooper, Megatron." Sideways mocked. "It's no wonder that your ego almost destroyed the universe, once."

"Optimus, I find myself at a bit of a disadvantage." Megatron held out his hand. "If you wish for me to contribute to this battle in any meaningful way…"

"Time is of the essence, Megatron." Optimus said, handing him the Star Saber. "You know what must be done."

Megatron nodded, and grasped the Star Saber. The moment he did, it glowed blue, just as it had for Optimus the first time that he held it, and Megatron gazed at it, transfixed. Optimus didn't notice this, and charged forward, to face Sideways alone.

It wasn't going well.

Outside, the sounds of machinery stopped, but the pulsing didn't. He couldn't ignore it at all, yet Seven didn't react to it. What was going on?

A large hum. Lights dimmed. Engines roared. Raf could swear he heard rock music. The moonlight was a thick purple now, bathing the whole area, like the atmosphere itself was greying.

"Damn." Seven said. Actually, he said a lot of words worse than that, in combinations Raf would probably use later. "Think, Seven, think." He paced. "I've got no weapons in here, and it's probably mayhem out there..." He looked at the single elevator still on ground level, for the helicopter lost in the initial Carbombyan invasion, marked Icarus. "Rafael. We can take that elevator. Leave out the back. My car. It has gas, and weapons. We can escape."

"You heard the scientist," Raf said, "Don't leave unless there's a Ground Bridge."

"And where's the Scientist, Raf?" Seven snapped, pointing to the screen. Indeed, the Scientist's lab was dark, without anybody in it, nor the glow of Airachnid's dead, purple eyes. "He's not coming to rescue us! MECH doesn't do rescues, and our science staff is just as MECH as the agents."

"So what, then?" Raf said. "Leave with you? Jump off a roof, and drive until the world ends?"

"Jasper." Seven said. "We drive to Jasper. We find the Autobot base. We use their space bridge."

"To what? Stop Silas ourselves?"

"We're the only ones who can or will." Seven insisted.

"You have _one _M-Con. The Cylas literally has more firepower than you in its pinky finger, and that's assuming that you incapacitate Ratchet." Raf rubbed his temples. He was getting agitated, it was making it hard to think, especially with this incessant pounding against his bones. They were practically drowning out his voice. He needed to calm down, to…

_No, no, by all means, get mad._

"Go." Raf said, staring back up at the screen. "Run away, try your plan. I don't care. I'm going to stay and see… See if I can think of something that'll work."

"Well _I_ care." Seven said. "You're a major asset."

Raf sarcastically mouthed the words 'major asset' as he swiveled his seat around, facing the screen. Optimus was still getting his fender handed to him.

"You're not just an asset." Seven sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're a good kid. You can't go out like this. Whatever Silas is planning, he was right about one thing: MECH is humanity's future, and you're one of us."

"Yeah, well, unless Optimus can stop Silas," Raf said, turning back to the screen as Seven took the elevator up, "humanity doesn't have a future."

After a particularly long flurry of punches, Sideways finished his combo by jump kicking Optimus in the chin, sending him flying into the air. Optimus twirled and swapped out his hands for blasters, firing down at Sideways, who dodged the blast, only to find himself in the path of another plasma bolt. Unable to move out of the way in time, he raised a hand to it and caught it, the explosion filling the views with smoke and dust. When it cleared, Sideways was still standing, his swords tucked back in. "Try this!" he shouted as he swapped out his hands for blasters, returning fire at the still airborne Optimus, hitting him dead center in the chest as he fell to the ground. Optimus landed on his back, and Sideways jumped onto him, kneeing him in the stomach before standing over his waist, raising a hand for his finishing blow. "Die!"

"Someone will die this day." Megatron said from behind him. Sideways turned around just in time to see Megatron swinging the Star Saber straight for his head, his eyes a burning shade of blue to match the glow of the blade. As the blade passed through where Sideways was, Sideways was two meters to the left, his eyes narrow in frustration as a chunk of his shoulder armor fell to the ground and blew away like dust, the exposed section of his body showing a bubbling silver liquid.

"Quite a blade you've got there." Sideways said, pointing to the part of his arm that was refusing to heal. "Imagine if you were actually fast enough to hit me with it? That'd be the end of good old Sideways, wouldn't it?" He shook his head and looked up at the still firing Omega Beam. "OK, I think we're almost done, so it's time to finish this." He readied a blaster at Megatron. "So long, Megatron. It's been… a blast."

Megatron's pale blue eyes widened in fear and anger, his hand dropping the Star Saber and guarding for a blast to the face that never came.

"Wh-whoah!" Sideways shouted.

"You got careless." Optimus Prime said, panting and for probably the first time ever, taunting an opponent. Both of his hands were wrapped firmly around Sideways' antlers.

"The antlers?!" Sideways grumbled, flailing away uselessly. "Why does everybody go for the antlers?!"

"Well done, Optimus!" Megatron shouted, diving for the Star Saber and fumbling to grab it with his single hand. "You would have made a fine gladiator!"

"No more, Optimus Prime!" Sideways shouted as Megatron managed to gain a grip on the hilt, the blade glowing once more as he raised it overhead. "Grant me mercy, I beg of you!"

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it?" Optimus coughed. "Megatron is made of sterner stuff."

"Hold him still." Megatron let out a weak laugh as he struggled to lift the Star Saber over his head. "Let's make this a clean cut, shall we?"

"No, Optimus Prime!" Sideways shouted. "Earth! Earth can be saved, with Cybertron!"

Sideways' words made Megatron hesitate. And apparently Optimus relaxed his grip too, because sideways dropped to the ground immediately, before jumping with a spin to Elbow Optimus in the face, knocking him back, flying. Sideways immediately leapt from his position, away from Megatron, to plant his foot on Optimus Prime's chest.

"Optimus!" Megatron shouted, limping towards them as fast as he could. Silas and the Sweeps, still spectating, laughed, as the Autobots turned away from the sight of Megatron so dejected. "You fool!"

"It's just like I said earlier!" Sideways laughed. "One of the most incompetent examples of a Prime I've ever met!" He drew one of his katanas, pointing it at Optimus' neck as he began to grind his heel into the Prime's chest. "And like countless Optimus Primes before you, it's time for you to die."

"No!" a voice shouted from off to the side. Everybody turned to see Miko, her eyes red and wet with tears, shaking with rage in the Apex Armor.

"The girl!" Megatron rasped with a smile. "I'd almost forgotten."

"Leave my planet alone!" She shouted, breaking into a dead sprint towards Sideways. His visor seemed to widen in shock as Miko took a flying leap, headbutting Sideways in the chest, sending him flying into a support pillar, splattering him to dust on impact.

"Miko?" Optimus panted. "Miko. You need to get out of here. Ratchet. He…"

The silver dust swirled in between the two of them, solidifying into Sideways, his featureless face somehow still conveying pure rage. "No. More. Primes." He said, and drew his fist across Miko's armored face, sending her flying past the outer bounds of the Omega Lock. He turned to face her as she stumbled back to her feet, nauseous from the tumble.

"Wait." Optimus said, weakly reaching for Sideways' ankle. "She's just…"

"A child?" Sideways snapped, turning around. "A human? You're joking! She can wreck with the best of you!" He turned back. "If she likes Autobots so much, maybe Primus'll let her join you… in the Allspark!"

"Never!" Optimus shouted, pushing himself back up, and grasping Sideways in a full nelson, grabbing his antlers again and pulling him close and tight. "Megatron, now!"

"I would have waited an eternity for this." Megatron said, finally upon them, weakly lifting the Star Saber, his optics leaking translucent blue energon, like tears. "It's over, Prime."

"No!" Sideways shouted, as Megatron pulled back the blade. "Wait!"

Megatron did not listen, and in one thrust, impaled them both.

"No!" Miko cried out, stumbling back to her feet.

"Oh no…" Raf muttered.

"No!" Smokescreen shouted in the distance, surprisingly not getting smacked across the head again.

_Yes. Yes! YES!_

Sideways looked down at the blade that was shoved through his chest, nearly wide enough to split him in half. Putting his weight behind it, Megatron stumbled forward, impaling the two of them into the ground. Sideways's body bubbled and dripped liquid metal at the edges of the wound, and he reached down to scoop some up, rubbing his fingers together and flicking it to the wind.

"Don't tell me this didn't work." Megatron coughed, looking Sideways in the eyes.

"Huh, no, uh…" Sideways tentatively touched the blade, and retracted his fingers immediately, as it burned his steel on contact. "Jeez, no, you got me pretty good. What is this?"

"The Star Saber…" Optimus coughed from underneath him, his hands slipping free from Sideways' antlers. "Forged by Solus Prime… The Matrix…"

"Well…" Sideways said, craning his neck to look at Silas and the MECH troopers. "It's been fun Cyclonus, old pal, but this is it for Sidesey. You can take it from here. Safe travels! See you in the next cluster!"

"What?" Silas asked, but Sideways vanished. Literally, one instant he was there, the next he wasn't. And with him, the pulsations of the Earth ceased. At the same time, the Space Bridge vanished, and Silas lifted his hand from the Omega Lock panel in surprise. "No… No!"

There was a crash. Silas and Scourge turned to see that Bumblebee had reached up, grabbed the M-Con behind him by the head, and flipped it over before using it as a club to bash the one next to him holding Bulkhead hostage. Arcee immediately seized the opportunity, drawing her elbow into her captor's chest cavity before sweeping its legs and sending it stumbling to the ground. MECH-1 turned around immediately and opened fire, only for Smokescreen to quickly react and grab his captor by the chest, flipping around to use it as a human shield. The M-Con raised its arms in time to block the shot, losing a hand in the process as MECH-1 immediately stopped firing.

"Stop. Stop!" Silas shouted, rubbing his robotic temples. "Let them go. We need them."

The four Autobots didn't register Silas's words and barreled past him towards Optimus, who was laying pinned to the ground, one hand in Megatron's grasp. Arcee shouted something into her comm, and Bulkhead and Smokescreen actually took the time to swap out their melee weapons and bash Silas in the chest as they passed, knocking him to the ground. The M-Cons rushed forward, lifting him up to his feet and readying their blasters at the Space Bridge that opened up behind them.

None of them were prepared for the whirlwind of blades and kicks that was Ratchet as he sprinted through the Space Bridge portal, slicing MECH-1's blaster clean off as he passed before he could even get a shot off as he ran to the rest of them. A moment later, he stood up, not looking at Megatron.

"I'm afraid the wounds are…" he sighed. "Fatal."

Silas took a few cautionary steps back as the tension jacked up several levels, but Scourge leaned over from his perch, apparently having been forgotten, to observe the scene.

"Prime, you can't die!" Smokescreen shouted.

"Do not grieve…" Optimus rasped. "Soon, I will be one with the Allspark."

"Optimus…" Megatron muttered, shaking his head. "Forgive me."

If he heard Megatron's words, he didn't react. Optimus stared upwards, past all of them. To something distant, something ethereal.

"It is to you, old friend," he said, "I shall pass the Matrix of Leadership… As it was passed to me."

"But… Optimus." Ratchet said, shaking his head. "I'm just a medic. I'm… I'm not worthy."

"Nor was I…" Optimus shook his head, coughing, struggling to get the words out. "But I did not mean you…" He rolled his head to the side, making a painful screeching sound as energon spurted out of his wound. "Megatronus…"

_What._

"Optimus?!" Ratchet sputtered. "You can't be serious!"

"He's lost his memory again!" Bulkhead shouted to the rest, eyeing the exhausted Megatron and swapping out a blaster.

"Orion!" Ratchet said, nodding in agreement. "Orion, listen. The one you call Megatronus, he-"

"I know…" Optimus said, clearly rushing. "Something… evil… watches over us. The sky above… Nothing we can do..."

"Oh, right, Scourge!" Arcee said, directing her attention to the hunter again.

"No." Optimus groaned. "Unicron… I had believed that… one day…" He stopped for a moment to gather his thoughts. "An Autobot would rise from our ranks… and use the power of the Matrix… to light… our darkest hour. But… Unicron's revival… I failed."

"No, Optimus." Megatron said, shaking his head furiously and squeezing Optimus' hand more tightly. "Then it was not our darkest hour! There will be worse times to come, and… And our race. I was wrong. Cybertron needs Optimus Prime _and _Megatron!"

"Megatronus Prime," Optimus continued. "Only you… have the will to defeat the Chaos Bringer. You must prepare… to strike. Fight on, Megatronus." He pulled his hand free from the Decepticon leader's grip and pried his chest cavity open, exposing the golden talisman that could only have been the Matrix of Leadership. "Until that day…" he said, pulling it out of his chest and lifting it towards Megatron. "Til all are one." And Optimus Prime lost his grip, letting the Matrix slip from his hands, past Ratchet's reflexive grab and Megatron's weak swipe…

Only to be yanked away a second before it hit the ground, into the waiting hand of Swindle, brandishing the Polarity Gauntlet in the other. The other Combaticons stood beside him, in what could only be called mint condition, grins wide, weapons ready, bearing the Iacon relics dropped in the fight. Vortex held the Immobilizer, Onslaught the Phase Shifter, Blast-Off the Resonance Blaster, and Brawl clutched the Spark Extractor.

"No..." Optimus breathed, before his optics went out for the last time.

"I just love it when a plan comes together, don't you, Megatron?" a familiar voice attached to an unfamiliar body asked.

The Combaticons parted, and out from behind them stepped a positively massive robot that, when Raf thought about it, must have been crouching for dramatic effect. Taller than Megatron by a meter was a monstrosity of metal, with an inverted triangular torso, digitigrade legs, long, clawed fingers, and a head lacking in any recognizable humanoid features save for two glowing red eyes. Swindle handed it the Matrix as it walked in front of them, and it held it up to ponder its light before returning its gaze to Megatron and the Autobots. And in that moment, there was no mistaking it. The voice, the movements, the body language.

It was Starscream.

"You see, it takes patience to make a plan." Starscream said to the stunned observers. "The patience to watch and wait. To-"

"Monologuing!" Onslaught said.

"Gah. Right." Starscream muttered, tossing the Matrix back into the hands of Swindle, who dropped it into the portal in his chest compartment before readying his weapons again. "Let's not make this difficult, Autobots. If you could step away from Megatron? Or should I say… Megatronus Prime?"

Ratchet and Arcee stood up first, each grabbing one side of the Star Saber's hilt, and struggled to pull it free of Optimus' torso. The Prime's color was fading by the second. Bulkhead looked around, drooped his shoulders, and with a grunt and a heave, pulled the Star Saber up, dropping it to the ground beside Optimus. He grabbed Optimus by the legs to assist Ratchet and Arcee with the lift, carrying him a ways further back, closer to the still open space bridge, and Silas' retinue.

"I will not ask a second time." Starscream hissed. "Bumblebee and other Autobot. Step away from Megatron or be destroyed."

"Optimus…" Smokescreen said, closing his eyes and resting his head in his hand. "He said…"

"You Autobots are so _dogmatic_!" Starscream shouted. "You would follow the whims of a Prime even if it meant the collective suicide of our people! Optimus Prime could have annihilated the Omega Lock in front of you, and you would still defend him, wouldn't you?"

"No!" Smokescreen shook his head. "Optimus wouldn't do that. He… He knows best. That's why he's the Prime."

"_Was_ the Prime." Starscream laughed. His face panels slid into something vaguely resembling a smile. "Now he's a lifeless husk. Just as this world will remain unless I am obeyed. Now… Step. Away. From. Megatron."

Bumblebee shook his head, grabbing Smokescreen by the shoulder, leading the rookie away from Megatron to tend to Optimus Prime's now gunmetal grey body.

"Good." Starscream smiled, clapping his hands. "Vortex, if you would?"

"Yes, sir!" Vortex shouted enthusiastically, stepping forward and firing the immobilizer at the clustered Autobots.

"No!" Miko gasped and stepped back from her paralyzed friends. "Why?!"

"Because I have plans." Starscream explained, dipping his head in a condescending bow. "And the Autobots are just a tad too… emotionally invested in stopping them."

"I don't understand." Megatron closed his eyes in frustration as he stood alone, clutching his stump, looking down at the Star Saber and shaking his head. "Starscream, is that you?"

"Here's a hint!" Starscream laughed, approaching Megatron. Megatron was too exhausted to lift up an arm in his defense, and Starscream plunged a clawed hand into the Decepticon leader's chest. Megatron retched, covering Starscream's face with energon as his eyes flickered and dimmed. "How do you feel, _oh mighty Megatron?"_ And with a yell, Starscream lifted his leg, planted it on Megatronus' stomach, and pushed it forward, forcing him onto his back… minus the shard of Dark Energon that Starscream still held in his hands.

"You know what Starscream?" Megatron craned his neck to look down at his hollowed out chest cavity, and a smile crept up his lips as he coughed out thick globules of Purple Energon. "Of all of the ways to become one with the Allspark, being eviscerated by you mere moments after Optimus Prime acknowledged my leadership abilities in his dying breaths may well be the most… poetic way to go. I'm not _happy_ about it, no, but…" He wheezed and looked up at the glow of the Omega Lock. "But it was so artistically done."

"Oh, how it _pains_ me to-" Starscream began to sneer.

"I mean was this the best you could do, Starscream?" Megatron continued, staring up at him, smiling. "And to think you actually believe you could take over as leader of the Decepticons… You couldn't lead a parade."

The Combaticons stood at attention. Miko looked down and tried to suppress a smile. Scourge shook his head, closing his eyes. Silas muted his microphone and was very obviously laughing in his suit.

Starscream looked around, daring somebody to comment aloud, before standing up to his full height and holding out the Dark Energon shard over Megatron, letting it drip into his chest, each drop making the dying warlord's flicker with life.

"Actually, Lord Megatron," Starscream said curtly, "You will find soon enough that joining the Allspark is something of an… impossibility for you. The Dark Energon that flowed through your veins… _our_ veins, not only prevented us from joining Primus prematurely, but prevents us from joining our creator at all. No, there is no sweet embrace of our collective overmind for us, Lord Megatron. Out lust for power has ensured that neither of us will find eternal peace. Truly, I don't think we would enjoy it. Deep inside we're kindred spirits, you and I." Starscream paused. "Literally, you're going to be a spirit. But I think you'll have a harder time finding protoforms to occupy than I did." He patted at his chest. "The humans really did a bang-up job with this one, too."

"Disappointing, and yet…" Megatron muttered as he looked down at the hole in his chest and smiled, shaking his head. "Even in death, there is no command but mine."

"Whatever." Starscream dropped the Dark Energon to the ground, next to Megatron's stump. "With enough effort, I'm sure I can fill your _shoes._" And with that, he kicked Megatron in the sides as hard as he could before turning around and flicking the residual Dark Energon off of his fingers. "Now, next on the agenda?" He looked to Onslaught.

"Let's see…" Onslaught began muttering to himself and counting his fingers. "Optimus is down, Megatron is down. Autobots are neutralized, the Omega Lock is ready to activate…" He shrugged. "I think we just splatter the humans and we're good to go."

"Did we have to kill the humans?" Vortex asked.

"He didn't specify…" Swindle pointed out. "And all things considered, I like this one more than the other one."

Silas pointed at them and shouted something.

"What?" Brawl asked, holding a hand to his ear. "Didn't catch that, little buddy."

Silas shook his head and unmuted his microphone. "What other human?"

"It's not important." Starscream said as he walked over to the Omega Lock and inspected the glyphs as he undid Silas' firing commands to the default and activated the beam, keeping his hands on it. "He didn't give instructions either way, so I say that we just-"

"Have you forgotten, Starscream, that I'm holding your entire race hostage?" Silas asked, pointing up to Scourge, who gave a small wave.

"For what, exactly?" Starscream asked as the Omega Lock's ring began rotating and firing in different locations, clearing the surrounding rust cloud wherever it touched it. In the distance, lights could be seen flickering on. "You've no home to run to, you made sure of that. Your men are ready to collapse. Your drones are scrap. And you won't kill yourself just to get one up on me."

"How do you know?" Silas asked.

"It's like I said before." Starscream said, handwaving Silas as if he were an annoyingly inquisitive child.

_Do you have experience with them?_

"We have much in common." Starscream finished.

Raf narrowed his eyes, blinking and defocusing from the screen. He was still alive.

"Hey Seven." Raf said into the comm. "Have you noticed that we're _still alive_?"

"Huh?" Seven replied. "Yeah. I noticed. I'm approaching the Autobot Base now. I didn't see anything wrong on the way here, besides the weird sky, and nobody seems to care. News stations aren't talking about anything but US airstrikes against Carbombya. What did Silas _do?_"

Back on Cybertron, Silas watched helplessly as the Omega Lock rapidly fired its reparative beams around the planet.

"You think this thing'll even repair Six-Lasers Over Cybertron?" Blast-Off asked.

"It's on the other side of the planet." Vortex said. "And I doubt a relic of the ancients is going to repair a _theme park_."

"I can hope." Blast-Off shrugged. "You know, maybe I could just do a quick fly-over and…"

"No." Onslaught ordered flatly.

"How about this." Silas offered. "You let us leave, with the girl. We part ways and call it a draw."

"Hmm…" Starscream scratched his chin. "No. Combaticons, dispose of this trash."

"Scourge!" Silas shouted. "Do it!"

Scourge grunted and nodded in assent, standing up and hitting a series of buttons, switching the light on the bomb to red and causing a large red button to emerge, perfect for fist-slamming. He prepared to hit it, only to seize up as he was hit with the Immobilizer. His eyes squinted as he fell backwards from his perch. The bomb almost fell with him, but Swindle caught it just before it hit the ground with the polarity gauntlet. Scourge received no such care, and slammed into the ground hard.

"I've had my eye on that armor for hours." Brawl said, stepping towards Miko with Vortex at his side while Onslaught and Blast-Off moved towards Silas and the Sweeps

"Nowhere to run." Blast-Off said as they all stepped back and raised their blasters.

"Nowhere to hide." Onslaught finished.

And then Blast-Off was kicked to the side, sliding on the ground. Everybody turned to see the source, to find a single M-Con, no weapons out, poised for battle.

Seven had come through the Autobot Space Bridge.

"Not today, alien scum!" Seven shouted before his robot leapt and delivered a spin-kick to the side of Onslaught's confused face.

"What?" Starscream hissed. "Combaticons! Crush him!"

Onslaught stumbled back to his feet only to be face to face with a squared up Silas who delivered a punch to his chest that was pushed away at the last second and rewarded with a side kick to the abdomen.

"Career soldier?" Onslaught growled as he gestured for Silas to come at him again while the Sweeps moved around to engage Blast-Off and the others.

"Air Force, Special Tactics." Silas said, running forward and exchanging blows with him, only to be knocked to the ground again.

"Special is right." Onslaught taunted.

"I may be a bit rusty." Silas said, flipping onto his back and stumbling onto his feet again. "But I don't need to best you." He leapt forward, slamming his knee into the Combaticon leader, who wheezed in pain before catching the leg and flipping Silas over onto the ground. "I just need to revive my troops before I bail out."

"What?" Onslaught said, turning around to see the Sweeps swarming Brawl and Blast-Off, while Miko wrested the Immobilizer from Vortex's grip, flicked a switch, and de-immobilized Scourge and the Autobots.

The numbers were on their side and then some, now.

"Space Bridge, now!" Miko shouted to the disoriented Autobots, who looked around at the chaos and ran forward, dragging Optimus's body. Without thinking, Miko dropped the Immobilizer to assist the lift, as did Scourge.

"Combaticons!" Starscream shouted, one hand still firmly on the Omega Lock panel while the other fired missiles. "_Stop them!"_

"And that's my cue." Silas said, firing a fist- a _fist-_ at Onslaught, clocking him in the jaw and _adjusting course to Starscream._ Starscream instantly switched his launcher back into a hand and caught the fist, crushing it effortlessly. Silas began crawling and then running towards the Space Bridge portal back to the Autobot Base, letting the others through first, before readying his other fist and firing it towards Swindle. He smiled as the fist hit the bomb's button dead center, and he hopped back through the closing Space Bridge Portal. "Ninety seconds."

_Perfect._

* * *

On the other side of the Bridge, in the Autobot base, everybody stopped to get their bearings. Miko immediately collapsed to the ground, curled into the fetal position. Seven was making his way back down the tunnel.

"Well." Silas said, catching his breath as the portal closed behind him. "That was quite the-"

And he was immediately tackled to the ground by Arcee. "You killed him." Arcee snarled as she struck at Silas's chest cavity. "You killed him. You killed him."

Silas attempted to strike back, a task made difficult by his lack of hands or any weaponry whatsoever. "Someone get this screeching harpy off of me!"

MECH-1 stepped forward and, as he had done about five times in the past hour, clubbed her in the back of the head, only to be immediately pulled back by Bulkhead and Bumblebee and thrown into the wall next to the deactivated Ground Bridge. That was all the reprieve Silas needed to flip over and straddle her waist before pressing his knee onto her throat.

"I'm sorry, are you upset because your dear leader is no more?" He laughed as he pressed his weight down further and Arcee desperately clawed at his thighs, repeating her accusations without pause. "And to think, in his last moments, he rendered your entire cause moot by turning over command to Megatron. Of course, it's not your fault. How could you have known that you were being commanded by an incompetent buffoon?"

Silas was immediately yanked back by Ratchet, who covered his face with one hand. "You talk a lot." Ratchet muttered, swapping out his other hand for a blade. "A tracheotomy should cure that. Shame about my tools, but what's surgery without its risk?" Ratchet flicked his elbow three times and tapped at the metal, causing Silas' chest plating to fall clean off, exposing his body to the open air of the base. His eyes widened in fear at the sight of the Doctor of Doom raising his blade, but Scourge grabbed Ratchet by the back of the head, lifted him by it, and began to tighten his grip.

"No." Scourge said as the Sweeps moved to restrain the Autobots. Seven lifted Silas up to his feet. "I don't think so."

Silas shielded himself with his robotic arm and wiped his robotic chin. "You know what?" Silas said, looking to the struggling Autobots. "For a time, I considered sparing your wretched excuse for a militia. But now… you can witness its dismemberment."

Silas looked at Scourge and waited for him to close his grip. But he didn't.

"No, Silas." Raf said into the mic, hand firmly on the throttle. "Not Ratchet. Not like this."

_Stop this nonsense. You are delaying Cyclonus at a critical juncture._

"Rafael?" Silas asked. "What _are you doing?_"

"I'm not letting you kill Ratchet." Raf said. "Or any of my other friends."

_Release your grip, boy!_

Not a chance.

_There is no time for this heroic nonsense._

The pounding returned. Loud. Raf clutched his head and groaned.

Scourge immediately opened his hand, dropping Ratchet to the ground. Silas groaned and dropped to one knee, before rising again, one optic glowing purple. _"Sweeps."_, the both of them boomed, gesturing ever so slightly out of sync. _"Time is of the essence. We must secure Prometheus, and rendezvous in Carbombya."_

"Uh… Silas?" Seven said. "That might be a problem."

Boom. It felt like Raf had slammed his forehead against a wall. He certainly wanted to

"… _What happened?"_ Silas asked, still echoing despite his frustration.

"The doors are sealed." Seven pointed a thumb towards the tunnel. "We can't get out."

"How are you gentlemen?" General Bryce asked on the main screen.

"It's _you_." Silas said, his robotic eyes returning to their orange color as his tone went from one of authority to one of disgust.

"I just called in to inform the Autobots that their services were no longer required," Bryce said, "but since you're here, Leland, I should tell you that as of now almost all of your bases belong to us. MECH is on the way to destruction."

"What are you saying?" Silas demanded.

"I'm saying that you have no chance to survive, but I wanted to make sure that you made the most of your time." Bryce said as images flashed of MECH and Carbombyan forces being targeted by US airstrikes. "Really, this makes my job easier, because I thought I'd have to find your stateside base. We thought we had a lead, but the site went dark hours ago. I have one of my top boys on it."

The headache seemed to recede, and hold itself at that level for a full second before crashing again. Raf doubled over in his seat.

_Be prepared._

Yeah Raf was prepared. To take a drill to his skull.

His response was an explosion that made him clench his teeth.

"Hm. Orpheus…" Silas muttered under his breath. "What job?"

"Well, in about…" Bryce checked his watch, "five minutes, that base is gonna blow sky-high with you all in it. Glad I have visual confirmation of your presence, too. No change of botching it like I did with the Esquivels."

Raf's eye twitched.

"You're a-"

"Goodbye, Leland." Bryce waved as he hung up.

"We can't trust any of you…" Ratchet coughed as he stumbled back to his feet. "You're all monsters."

"The main silo doors." Raf said immediately, making Scourge point to it. Silas nodded in assent. "Assuming those aren't sealed."

Boom. Loud.

"I can assure you, Rafael, that those doors in fact cannot be sealed from the outside." Silas informed the group, happy to share, "That would defeat the whole purpose."

"We can't fly." Bulkhead said. "We'd just be stuck on the roof. Unless we…" Bulkhead smiled and put a finger to his ear. "Calling Wheeljack. Wheeljack, this is Bulkhead. Requesting immediate evac from the base. Now. Like… right now."

"Not to mention the ambush that's probably waiting for us." Ratchet said. "And there's no way we can all fit on the Jackhammer, not even counting _them_." Ratchet pointed to MECH.

Boom. Hard. Raf felt the world take on a purple tint.

"I'll take my chances." Silas said, cycling through his available armaments and finding the one weapon he'd forgotten about. "Bryce _was _stupid enough to tell us about the bomb. He probably thought we'd stay in here."

"We _could_ just take the Ground Bridge." Arcee pointed out as the MECH troopers clambered onto the freight elevator.

"OK. That also works." Bulkhead said. "You four, go with Miko, get her to safety. I'm going to join up with Jackie. Take this." He rooted around in his chest cavity and pulled out what looked like a small grenade. "This is my Wrecker transponder. Once we figure out what's going on, activate the distress beacon, and we can regroup."

"You're going without me?" Miko asked. "No way!"

"Miko, we're in crisis mode right now. We don't have time to-"

"I'm not getting separated from you. And you don't have time to argue."

Bulkhead rubbed his forehead. "Fine."

Bulkhead, Miko, Silas, Scourge, and twenty Sweeps squeezed themselves onto the platform, taking them up to the roof as Ratchet punched in Ground Bridge coordinates.

When they all emerged on the roof, they found themselves surrounded by Helicopter gunships. Silas stepped onto the edge and immediately jumped back to avoid the tank shell that slammed into the side of the base.

Another pulse. An explosion. And then relief. He closed his eyes. He was seeing stars. Funny, he smiled, he could see the whole solar system.

It was the sound of footsteps behind him that tipped him off to the fact that somebody had breached the room. He held his breath as if he didn't know that he were literally in the middle of the room. His ears perked up as the footsteps approached. They sounded quick. They sounded young.

"Raf."

Raf sighed. With his eyes closed. It almost seemed like Unicron was a bad dream. He could almost pretend that he was back at the Autobot Base, with all of his friends.

"This needs to stop, Raf."

But he couldn't. Not completely. Not when he could still feel the fabric of the uniform that MECH had custom fitted for him. Not when he was sitting in Skyquake's hand. Not when he could feel the Chaos Bringer's warmth wrapping around his brain.

And he couldn't close his eyes and pretend that the reason Jack was standing behind him was for homework help. So he opened them.

"What do you know, Ratchet was right." Silas said. "So when is Wheeljack supposed to… what?"

Nobody was looking at Silas. Nobody was looking at the Military. Everybody was looking at the night sky, and the face of pure evil looking down at them.

"Silas…" Bulkhead asked, recoiling in horror from the sight of Unicron's golden, scowling visage. "Did you use the Omega Lock make a space station?"

"That's no space station." Miko said, covering her mouth as she shook her head. "That's the _moon._"

* * *

**On the next exciting chapter of A World Forged From Chaos**

-It's in the blood. It's in the will. It's in the mighty hands of steel when you're standing your ground.

-Instruments of destruction, tools of power plays. It's a violent eruption, existence stripped away.

-Dare to believe you can survive. You hold the future in your hands.

-This generation, we've got a fire in our eyes. Strong are the ties that bind us, we don't need no enemies. Nothing's gonna stand in our way.

-I'll do anything to get it and feel no regret. Time's running out, and I ain't found it yet.

-You can be a coffee achiever, you can sit around the house and watch "Leave it to Beaver." The future's up to you, so whatchu gonna do?

* * *

AN: "End of July" I said. Shouldn't take too long, I thought. You _know_ what you want to happen.

Nope.

Next chapter should be the last one. Somehow, after condensing the contents of three (One Shall Rise) and four(T/T/T/T) episodes into a chapter each, it's all catching up with me with what should be the last two damn episodes of Season 2.

It's a shame, I'm taking so long on this that some of my earlier readers aren't reviewing anymore.

For those of you reviewing, I'd like to know. How well do my characters stay, well, in character? Particularly Unicron, Raf, and Silas, but the others as well. My goal was to write a story that could just as easily have been an alternative second season, if they brought in TFA's writers. (The later seasons of TFA were pretty dark. Blurr's death jumps to mind for example.) Certain character arcs may have reversed, or in some cases skipped entirely because the lesson could not or would not be learned, but I want somebody to look at Ratchet's misanthropy, for example, and say, "Ah, Ratchet is having his biases confirmed" and not "This is an interesting take on an AU Ratchet where he's a racist."

Looking back, I kind of jumped all over the place with Scourge. When I first wrote him, I visualized a sort of amalgamation of the Rocky antagonists. Apollo Creed's joviality and competitiveness, Clubber Lang's ambition and pride, and Ivan Drago's desire to break things and intimidate people. Not sure if I succeeded in that regard.

The character of Seven, in contrast, was based on... Actually, he was very much made up as I went along. I originally planned for him to appear in that one chapter, but decided, hey, MECH needs a human face... mask... whatever. I tried to envision the kind of person who would join a terrorist group and believe whole-heartedly in the cause without being some religious fanatic. Seven was the result.

Alright. That's enough rambling. Chapter 22 drops when it's done. I have classes. It's getting late, and the night is dark and full of terrors.


End file.
